Impact on splicing in of random 50-base sequences inserted into an intron.

Intron splicing is a key regulatory step in gene expression in eukaryotes. Three sequence elements required for splicing-5' and 3' splice sites and a branchpoint-are especially well-characterized in , but our understanding of additional intron features that impact splicing in this organism is incomplete, due largely to its small number of introns. To overcome this limitation, we constructed a library in of random 50-nt (N50) elements individually inserted into the intron of a reporter gene and quantified canonical splicing and the use of cryptic splice sites by sequencing analysis.

Leaf Amino Acid Supply Affects Photosynthetic and Plant Nitrogen Use Efficiency under Nitrogen Stress.

The coordinated distribution of nitrogen to source leaves and sinks is essential for supporting leaf metabolism while also supplying sufficient nitrogen to seeds for development. This study aimed to understand how regulated amino acid allocation to leaves affects photosynthesis and overall plant nitrogen use efficiency in Arabidopsis () and how soil nitrogen availability influences these processes. Arabidopsis plants with a knockout of , encoding an amino acid permease involved in xylem-to-phloem transfer of root-derived amino acids, were grown in low-, moderate-, and high-nitrogen environments.

Improving Plant Nitrogen Use Efficiency through Alteration of Amino Acid Transport Processes.

Improving the efficiency of nitrogen (N) uptake and utilization in plants could potentially increase crop yields while reducing N fertilization and, subsequently, environmental pollution. Within most plants, N is transported primarily as amino acids. In this study, pea () plants overexpressing () were used to determine if and how genetic manipulation of amino acid transport from source to sink affects plant N use efficiency.

Different and overlapping functions of Arabidopsis LHT6 and AAP1 transporters in root amino acid uptake.

Plants acquire nitrogen in the form of amino acids from the soil, and transport proteins located in the plasma membrane of root cells are required for this process. It was found that the Arabidopsis lysine-histidine-like transporter LHT6 is expressed in root cells important for amino acid uptake, including the epidermis, root hairs, and cortex. Transport studies with lht6 mutants using high levels of amino acids demonstrated that LHT6 is in fact involved in amino acid uptake.