New Protein Discovery Reveals the Mechanisms of Nitrogen Assimilation in Plants
Published:11 Apr.2022 Source:Tohoku University
A collaborative research group has discovered the protein that inhibits the formation of organic nitrogen compounds in plants. This protein, if manipulated, could potentially be used to encourage plant growth, improving biomass production and crop harvests.
Nitrogen is one of the building blocks of life. Humans need nitrogen to make the amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids essential for growth, hormones, brain functions, the immune system, and DNA and RNA. Humans, unlike plants, cannot synthesize organic nitrogen molecules. Instead, we rely on plants for our nitrogen intake.