S U M M h R YWinter hydroponic growth of several lettuce cultivars under glass showed considerable inhibition (up to 47 °o) of growth after 6 wk exposure to concentrations of NO ( + NO,; 450 nl P in total) typical of emissions from propane burners used for direct heating and CO., enrichment. After a further 4 wk under similar conditions, however, these growth depressions were replaced by a swing into benefit so that, by harvest, pollutant-exposed lettuces were bigger and had faster assimilation rates than those growing in clean CO.,-enriched air. This adaptation may partly be explained by enhanced use of NOj-derived N by lettuce lea^^es, a consequence of increased nitrate reductase (NaR) activities and amounts of associated NaR proteins, despite adequate nitrate also being available in the hydroponic fluid. Rates of NaR activity in the roots, by contrast, were depressed by NO (-(-NO,) pollution. NaR activities were highest in early afternoon in clean or polluted air but these daily patterns did not coincide with the content of NaR-associated proteins determined by ELISA. Other mechanisms of modulating NaR activity must therefore be responsible.
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