Induction of Nitrate Assimilatory Enzymes in the Tree Betula pendula

The coordinate appearance of the bispecific NAD(P)H-nitrate reductase (NR; EC 1.6.6.2) and nitrite reductase (NiR; EC 1.7.7.1) was investigated in leaves and roots from European white birch seedlings (Betula pendula Roth). Induction by nitrate and light of both enzymes was analyzed by in vitro assays and by measuring NR- and NiR-encoding mRNA pools with homologous cDNAs as probes. When birch seedlings were grown on a medium containing ammonium as the sole nitrogen source, low constitutive expression of NR and NiR was observed in leaves, whereas only NiR was significantly expressed in roots. Upon transfer of the seedlings to a nitrate-containing medium, mRNA pools and activities of NR and NiR dramatically increased in leaves and roots, with a more rapid induction in leaves. Peak accumulations of mRNA pools preceded the maximum activities of NR and NiR, suggesting that the appearance of both activities can be mainly attributed to an increased expression of NR and NiR genes. Expression of NR was strictly light-dependent in leaves and roots and was repressed by ammonium in roots but not in leaves. In contrast with NR, constitutive expression of NiR was not affected by light, and even a slight induction following the addition of nitrate was found in the dark in roots but not in leaves. No effect of ammonium on NiR expression was detectable in both organs. In leaves as well as in roots, NiR was induced more rapidly than NR, which appears to be a safety measure to prevent nitrite accumulation.