The effect of endogenous and externally supplied nitrate on nitrate uptake and reduction in sugarbeet seedlings

The pericarp of the dormant sugarbeet fruit acts as a storage reservoir for nitrate, ammonium and α-amino-N. These N-reserves enable an autonomous development of the seedling for 8-10 d after imbibition. The nitrate content of the seed (1% of the whole fruit) probably induces nitrate-reductase activity in the embryo enclosed in the pericarp. Nitrate that leaks out of the pericarp is reabsorbed by the emerging radicle. Seedlings germinated from seeds (pericarp was removed) without external N-supply are able to take up nitrate immediately upon exposure via a low-capacity uptake system (vmax = 0.8 μmol NO 3 (-) ·(g root FW)(-1)·h(-1); Ks = 0.12 mM). We assume that this uptake system is induced by the seed nitrate (10 nmol/seed) during germination. Induction of a high-capacity nitrate-uptake system (vmax = 3.4 μmol NO 3 (-) ·(g root FW)(-1)·h(-1); Ks = 0.08 mM) by externally supplied nitrate occurs after a 20-min lag and requires protein synthesis. Seedlings germinated from whole fruits absorb nitrate via a highcapacity uptake mechanism induced by the pericarp nitrate (748 nmol/pericarp) during germination. The uptake rates of the high-capacity system depend only on the actual nitrate concentration of the uptake medium and not on prior nitrate pretreatments. Nitrate deprivation results in a decline of the nitrate-uptake capacity (t1/2 of vmax = 5 d) probably caused by the decay of carrier molecules. Small differences in Ks but significant differences in vmax indicate that the low- and high-capacity nitrate-uptake systems differ only in the number of identical carrier molecules.