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Calcium uptake by excised maize roots and interactions with alkali cations
1Mineral Nutrition Laboratory, USDA, ARS, SWCRD, Beltsville, Maryland 20705.
Plant Physiology
|July 1, 1969
Summary
Calcium (Ca2+) uptake in maize roots is a metabolically driven process. Its rate is significantly affected by factors like counter-ions, pH, concentration, and other cations present.
Area of Science:
- Plant Physiology
- Root Biology
- Mineral Nutrition
Background:
- Calcium (Ca2+) is essential for plant cell wall structure and signaling.
- Understanding Ca2+ uptake mechanisms is crucial for optimizing plant growth and stress tolerance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the metabolic mediation of Ca2+ uptake in excised maize roots.
- To identify factors influencing the rate of Ca2+ absorption.
Main Methods:
- Short-term uptake experiments using 5-day-old excised maize roots.
- Assessing Ca2+ absorption under varying conditions (temperature, inhibitors, different salt solutions).
Main Results:
- Ca2+ uptake is an active, energy-dependent process, inhibited by dinitrophenol and low temperatures.
- Uptake rate is influenced by the counter-ion, with NO3- > Cl- = Br- > SO4(2-).
- Potassium (K+) and hydrogen (H+) ions significantly inhibit Ca2+ absorption, while Li+ and Na+ have minimal effects.
Conclusions:
- Ca2+ uptake in maize roots is a metabolically regulated process.
- Environmental factors and the presence of other cations critically modulate Ca2+ absorption efficiency.
- These findings have implications for understanding nutrient transport in plants.