Absorção, assimilação e remobilização de nitrogênio em arroz, sob nutrição nítrica. Avaliação da expressão gênica diferencial.

Abstract

Rice is one of the most important cereals for the humanity, because it is primary source of nutrition for more than half of the world s population. Nitrogen is the most important element for plants and is predominantly present in aerated soils in the nitrate form. As a result of the poor quality of the cultivated areas, the usage of nitrogen fertilizers intensified, contributing to the increase of pollution, since this nutrient has high mobility in the soil. With the objective of evaluating physiologic, biochemical and molecular mechanisms responsible for the efficiency of the application of nitrogen in rice, experiments were conducted at the Soils Department of Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. Two rice varieties were used, Piaui (traditional rice) and IAC-47 (improved rice). In the beginning, both varieties were cultivated in nutrition solutions and submitted to treatments simulating the seasonal fluctuation of nitrate, characteristic of the tropical region. Under this condition an evaluation was done in order to define the soluble sugar levels, nitrogen fractions, and the Nitrate Reductase Activity (NRA) as well as Glutamine Synthetase Activity. Piaui rice was more efficient in the acquisition and usage of nitrogen compared to IAC-47, accumulating nitrate in its tissue during the initial phase of growth for future consumption. Later, these same rice varieties were cultivated in a growth chamber with the objective of studying the effect of increased nitrate concentrations over nitrogen fraction levels, NRA, relative expression of genes for nitrate transporters (NRT1 and NRT2) as well as a nitrate reductase (Nia2). From the results obtained it was observed that the traditional rice variety contained less NRA, higher levels of nitrogen and free amino-N. Further, traditional variety presented higher relative expression of the genes which codify nitrate transporters of low affinity (NRT1) and those of high affinity (NRT2). These plants seemed to adopt a differentiated control of NRA, because even having a higher relative expression of the genes, the NRA maintained practically without influence from the different concentrations of nitrate in the solution. In the last experiment, genes in the tips of rice roots were identified, induced by different concentrations of nitrate (0.1 and 10 mM). Several genes were sequenced, were the most important data was the subunit E1 of the dehydrogenase pyruvate complex, and phosphofructokinase, suggesting the need for a better understanding of the complexity of the interaction between carbon and nitrogen metabolism. There were also found sequences homologous to the alpha actin, myosin, tropomyosin 1, creatin kinase, and glyoxalase I genes.