Plants in the bean family (legumes) form nodules on their roots to take up nitrogen. Legumes will stop nodule production when nitrogen is plentiful (Figure 1), but precisely how nitrate presence controls nodule formation in these plants has been a mystery. Now, researchers from Japan have found that interactions between proteins and nitrate can induce and repress genes, controlling nodulation with potential applications in sustainable agriculture.
Click here for original story, How nitrate regulates gene expression in legumes
Source: Phys.org