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Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Lateral Root Inducible System in Arabidopsis and Maize
Published on: January 14, 2016
The Arabidopsis nitrate transporter NPF7.3/NRT1.5 is involved in lateral root development under potassium deprivation
Yue Zheng1, Navina Drechsler1, Christine Rausch1
1a Institute of Biology / Applied Genetics, Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin , Germany.
Abstract:
Plants have evolved a large array of transporters and channels that are responsible for uptake, source-to-sink distribution, homeostasis and signaling of nitrate (NO3(-)), which is for most plants the primary nitrogen source and a growth-limiting macronutrient. To optimize NO3(-) uptake in response to changing NO3(-) concentrations in the soil, plants are able to modify their root architecture. Potassium is another macronutrient that influences the root architecture. We recently demonstrated that the Arabidopsis NO3(-) transporter NPF7.3/NRT1.5, which drives root-to-shoot transport of NO3(-), is also involved in root-to-shoot translocation of K(+) under low NO3(-) nutrition. Here, we show that K(+) shortage, but not limiting NO3(-) supply, causes in nrt1.5 mutant plants an altered root architecture with conspicuously reduced lateral root density. Since lateral root development is influenced by auxin, we discuss a possible involvement of NPF7.3/NRT1.5 in auxin homeostasis in roots under K(+) deprivation.
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