Article
Agronomy
Huayan Yin, Fan Yang, Xiaoyan He, Xuye Du, Ping Mu, Wujun Ma
Summary: This review article examines the regulatory role of plant glutamine synthetase (GS) and its molecular mechanism in mitigating stress injury, focusing on the function of plant GS in stress tolerance response. The review aims to provide a reference for the utilization of plant GS in crop stress tolerance breeding.
Review
Plant Sciences
E. Moreira, S. Coimbra, P. Melo
Summary: Glutamine synthetase is an essential enzyme in plant metabolism, playing important roles in nitrogen assimilation and crop productivity. Different isoenzymes of GS have specific and non-redundant roles in plant physiology, but in species like A. thaliana, there is a redundancy in the gene family with a compensation mechanism.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Go Woon Kim, Dong Hoon Lee, Yu Hyun Jeon, Jung Yoo, So Yeon Kim, Sang Wu Lee, Ha Young Cho, So Hee Kwon
Summary: Glutamine plays a crucial role in cancer metabolism, with cancer cells consuming excessive amounts for rapid proliferation, especially in poorly vascularized cancers. Glutamine synthetase (GS) is essential in cancer metabolism as the sole enzyme responsible for synthesizing glutamine, which supports nucleotide synthesis. GS exhibits pro-tumoral features by providing glutamine to cancer cells in the tumor microenvironment, enabling cancer cells to maintain sufficient glutamine levels for catabolism, ultimately supporting cancer cell proliferation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Kim-Teng Lee, Hong-Sheng Liao, Ming-Hsiun Hsieh
Summary: Glutamine (Gln) is the first synthesized amino acid in plant nitrogen assimilation. Glutamine synthetase (GS), an ancient enzyme, converts glutamate (Glu) and NH4+ into Gln at the expense of ATP. Plants have multiple GS isoenzymes that ensure sufficient Gln supply for growth and development. Gln serves as a building block for protein synthesis and as a nitrogen donor for the biosynthesis of various molecules.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Maria Ancin, Luis Larraya, Igor Florez-Sarasa, Camille Benard, Alicia Fernandez-San Millan, Jon Veramendi, Yves Gibon, Alisdair R. Fernie, Iker Aranjuelo, Inmaculada Farran
Summary: This study investigated the influence of overexpressing Trx m on C and N partitioning in tobacco plants, showing altered metabolism with activation of N metabolism and decrease in carbohydrate accumulation. Metabolomic and enzymatic analyses revealed up-regulation of the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway and increased stability of glutamine synthetase, leading to higher photorespiration and nitrate accumulation in transgenic plants. Overall, Trx m was identified as a crucial molecular mediator of N metabolism in plant chloroplasts.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xiyun Zhao, Yi Song, Tianshu Wang, Chongchong Hua, Rui Hu, Yimin Shang, Haowen Shi, Sanfeng Chen
Summary: In this study, we have revealed that Paenibacillus polymyxa GlnR uses multiple mechanisms to regulate nitrogen metabolism. GlnR activates or represses or simultaneously activates and inhibits the transcription of nitrogen metabolism genes in response to nitrogen availability. The multiple regulation mechanisms employed by P. polymyxa GlnR are very different from Bacillus subtilis GlnR which represses nitrogen metabolism under excess nitrogen. Both GS encoded by glnA within the glnRA operon and GS1 encoded by glnA1 in P. polymyxa WLY78 are involved in ammonium assimilation, but only GS is required for regulating GlnR activity. The work not only provides significant insight into understanding the interplay of GlnR and GS in nitrogen metabolism but also provides guidance for improving nitrogen fixation efficiency by modulating nitrogen metabolism.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jose Miguel Valderrama-Martin, Francisco Ortigosa, Concepcion Avila, Francisco M. Canovas, Bertrand Hirel, Francisco R. Canton, Rafael A. Canas
Summary: This study classifies and phylogenetically analyzes the glutamine synthetase (GS) genes in plants. The results show that there are three clusters of GS genes in plants: GS1a, GS1b, and GS2. GS2 genes are widely present in gymnosperms, and GS1a genes are found in gymnosperms and some magnoliidae species. Additionally, GS1a is absent in more recent angiosperm species, possibly due to redundant roles of GS1a and GS2 in photosynthetic cells.
Article
Plant Sciences
Daxia Wu, Ying Li, Yanan Cao, Ripeng Hu, Xu Wu, Wei Zhang, Wenqing Tao, Guohua Xu, Xiaochun Wang, Yali Zhang
Summary: Increasing GS activity in rice by overexpressing TaGS1 gene significantly enhances plant yield and nitrogen use efficiency, mainly through promoting root capacity, N accumulation and remobilization to grains.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Shambhu Krishan Lal, Sahil Mehta, Dhandapani Raju, V. Mohan Murali Achary, Ajay Kumar Venkatapuram, Shashank Kumar Yadav, Hemangini Parmar, Rakesh Pandey, Varakumar Panditi, Vijay Sheri, Anil Kumar Singh, Viswanathan Chinnusamy, Malireddy K. K. Reddy
Summary: Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient for crop productivity, but its low use efficiency leads to environmental degradation and higher input costs for farmers. This study developed a genetic strategy to improve nitrogen use efficiency in rice plants by enhancing the activity of glutamine synthetase (GS), resulting in enhanced growth and productivity. The increased nitrogen assimilation positively affected photosynthetic efficiency and C/N balance in the transgenic rice plants. However, insufficient C supply may reduce the positive effect of GS overexpression, suggesting the need for refined strategies to improve both N and C assimilation simultaneously.
JOURNAL OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATION
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
David Alors, Kevin R. Amses, Timothy Y. James, Sammy Boussiba, Aliza Zarka
Summary: Glufosinate, a GlnS inhibitor, was found to completely inhibit the infection of H. lacustris by the blastocladialean fungus P. sedebokerense at millimolar concentrations. However, this effect was due to the direct interaction between glufosinate and the blastoclad, rather than the host. The study also revealed that GlnS type III is crucial for the development and growth of P. sedebokerense.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jose Miguel Valderrama-Martin, Francisco Ortigosa, Juan Carlos Aledo, Concepcion Avila, Francisco M. Canovas, Rafael A. Canas
Summary: The pine (Pinus pinaster) GS1 (PpGS1b.2) gene was identified and shown to have a high sequence identity with the GS1b.1 gene in conifers. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that PpGS1b.2 is restricted to Pinus and Picea genera. Gene expression data suggested a putative role of PpGS1b.2 in plant development, similar to other GS1b genes from angiosperms. Structural and kinetic analysis showed differences between GS1b.1 and GS1b.2 despite their high sequence homology.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Annie S. P. Yang, Youri M. van Waardenburg, Marga van de Vegte-Bolmer, Geert-Jan A. van Gemert, Wouter Graumans, Johannes H. W. de Wilt, Robert W. Sauerwein
Summary: The development of Plasmodium falciparum in hepatocytes is strongly influenced by the metabolic status of hepatocyte subtypes, with a selective preference for a minority of hepatocytes. Schizont growth is significantly enhanced by the uptake of glutamine synthetase (hGS), showcasing a novel import system. These findings underscore the importance of understanding detailed hepatocyte host-Plasmodium falciparum interactions and may provide new pathways for intervention strategies.
Article
Plant Sciences
Yihao Wei, Shuping Xiong, Zhiyong Zhang, Xiaodan Meng, Lulu Wang, Xiaojiao Zhang, Meiqin Yu, Haidong Yu, Xiaochun Wang, Xinming Ma
Summary: This study investigated the localization and expression of individual TaGS isozymes in wheat grain, highlighting the distinct roles they play in nitrogen metabolism during grain development. TaGS1;3 was found to play a key role in Gln assimilation into endosperm for gluten synthesis, with stable expression in specific grain tissues. The findings suggest that GS-GOGAT cycle and GDH have varying impacts on NH4+ assimilation in different stages of grain development.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qin Li, Haowei Zhang, Yi Song, Minyang Wang, Chongchong Hua, Yashi Li, Sanfeng Chen, Ray Dixon, Jilun Li
Summary: Paenibacillus sabinae T27 exhibits an unusual nitrogen regulation pattern, and the alanine dehydrogenase ald1 plays a key role in nitrogen fixation at high ammonium concentrations.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Meng Yuan, Bo Tu, Hengchao Li, Huanhuan Pang, Nan Zhang, Minghe Fan, Jingru Bai, Wei Wang, Zhaoqi Shu, Christopher C. DuFort, Sihan Huo, Jie Zhai, Ke Yao, Lina Wang, Haoqiang Ying, Wei-Guo Zhu, Deliang Fu, Zeping Hu, Ying Zhao
Summary: The study demonstrates that cancer-associated fibroblasts in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment secrete nucleosides through autophagy in an NUFIP1-dependent manner, thereby inducing glucose consumption under glutamine-deprived conditions and promoting tumor growth.