Discovery of a protein’s key role in plant metabolism

Publication of the RDP in the journal The Plant Cell on February 8, 2023. Press realease of the INRAE on February 8, 2023. Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and therefore agricultural production. Understanding how plants assimilate nitrogen is essential for developing sustainable agriculture using less fertiliser. Teams from INRAE, ENS de Lyon, the University of Poitiers, the Max Planck Institute of the Paris-Saclay University and the Université Paris Cité, with the participation of the CNRS⁽¹⁾ , have discovered the major role of a protein in the nitrogen assimilation metabolism. Their results, published in The Plant Cell , pave the way for developing plant varieties that are more efficient at using soil nitrogen and thus reducing the use of fertilisers in agriculture. Nitrate signaling improves plant growth under limited nitrate availability and, hence, optimal resource use for crop production.