Sulfur is required for growth of all organisms and is present in a wide variety of metabolites having distinctive biological functions. Sulfur is cycled in ecosystems in nature where conversion of sulfate to organic sulfur compounds is primarily dependent on sulfate uptake and reduction pathways in photosynthetic organisms and microorganisms. In vascular plant species, transport proteins and enzymes in this pathway are functionally diversified to have distinct biochemical properties in specific cellular and subcellular compartments. Recent findings indicate regulatory processes of sulfate transport and metabolism are tightly connected through several modes of transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. This review provides up-to-date knowledge in functions and regulations of sulfur assimilation in plants and algae, focusing on sulfate transport systems and metabolic pathways for sulfate reduction and synthesis of downstream metabolites with diverse biological functions.

In their natural environment, plants are part of a rich ecosystem including numerous and diverse microorganisms in the soil. It has been long recognized that some of these microbes, such as mycorrhizal fungi or nitrogen fixing symbiotic bacteria, play important roles in plant performance by improving mineral nutrition. However, the full range of microbes associated with plants and their potential to replace synthetic agricultural inputs has only recently started to be uncovered. In the last few years, a great progress has been made in the knowledge on composition of rhizospheric microbiomes and their dynamics. There is clear evidence that plants shape microbiome structures, most probably by root exudates, and also that bacteria have developed various adaptations to thrive in the rhizospheric niche. The mechanisms of these interactions and the processes driving the alterations in microbiomes are, however, largely unknown. In this review, we focus on the interaction of plants and root associated bacteria enhancing plant mineral nutrition, summarizing the current knowledge in several research fields that can converge to improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning this phenomenon.

The availability of nitrogen varies greatly in the ocean and limits primary productivity over large areas. Diatoms, a group of phytoplankton that are responsible for about 20% of global carbon fixation, respond rapidly to influxes of nitrate and are highly successful in upwelling regions. Although recent diatom genome projects have highlighted clues to the success of this group, very little is known about their adaptive response to changing environmental conditions. Here, we compare the proteome of the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana (CCMP 1335) at the onset of nitrogen starvation with that of nitrogen-replete cells using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In total, 3,310 protein spots were distinguishable, and we identified 42 proteins increasing and 23 decreasing in abundance (greater than 1.5-fold change; P , 0.005). Proteins involved in the metabolism of nitrogen, amino acids, proteins, and carbohydrates, photosynthesis, and chlorophyll biosynthesis were represented. Comparison of our proteomics data with the transcriptome response of this species under similar growth conditions showed good correlation and provided insight into different levels of response. The T. pseudonana response to nitrogen starvation was also compared with that of the higher plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and the cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus. We have found that the response of diatom carbon metabolism to nitrogen starvation is different from that of other photosynthetic eukaryotes and bears closer resemblance to the response of cyanobacteria.

SummaryThe effect of externally applied L-cysteine and glutathione (GSH) on ATP sulphurylase and adenosine 5¢-phosphosulphate reductase (APR), two key enzymes of assimilatory sulphate reduction, was examined in Arabidopsis thaliana root cultures. Addition of increasing L-cysteine to the nutrient solution increased internal cysteine, g-glutamylcysteine and GSH concentrations, and decreased APR mRNA, protein and extractable activity. An effect on APR could already be detected at 0.2 mM L-cysteine, whereas ATP sulphurylase was signi®cantly affected only at 2 mM L-cysteine. APR mRNA, protein and activity were also decreased by GSH at 0.2 mM and higher concentrations. In the presence of L-buthionine-S, Rsulphoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, 0.2 mM L-cysteine had no effect on APR activity, indicating that GSH formed from cysteine was the regulating substance. Simultaneous addition of BSO and 0.5 mM GSH to the culture medium decreased APR mRNA, enzyme protein and activity. ATP sulphurylase activity was not affected by this treatment. Tracer experiments using 35 SO 4 2± in the presence of 0.5 mM L-cysteine or GSH showed that both thiols decreased sulphate uptake, APR activity and the¯ux of label into cysteine, GSH and protein, but had no effect on the activity of all other enzymes of assimilatory sulphate reduction and serine acetyltransferase. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that thiols regulate the¯ux through sulphate assimilation at the uptake and the APR step. Analysis of radioactive labelling indicates that the¯ux control coef®cient of APR is more than 0.5 for the intracellular pathway of sulphate assimilation. This analysis also shows that the uptake of external sulphate is inhibited by GSH to a greater extent than the¯ux through the pathway, and that the¯ux control coef®cient of APR for the pathway, including the transport step, is proportionately less, with a signi®cant share of the control exerted by the transport step.

Using Arabidopsis, we analyzed the effect of omission of a nitrogen source and of the addition of different nitrogen-containing compounds on the extractable activity and the enzyme and mRNA accumulation of adenosine 5-phosphosulfate reductase (APR). During 72 h without a nitrogen source, the APR activity decreased to 70% and 50% of controls in leaves and roots, respectively, while cysteine (Cys) and glutathione contents were not affected. Northern and western analysis revealed that the decrease of APR activity was correlated with decreased mRNA and enzyme levels. The reduced APR activity in roots could be fully restored within 24 h by the addition of 4 mM each of NO 3 ؊ , NH 4 ؉ , or glutamine (Gln), or 1 mM O-acetylserine (OAS).35 SO 4 2؊ feeding showed that after addition of NH 4 ؉ , Gln, or OAS to nitrogen-starved plants, incorporation of 35 S into proteins significantly increased in roots; however, glutathione and Cys labeling was higher only with Gln and OAS or with OAS alone, respectively. OAS strongly increased mRNA levels of all three APR isoforms in roots and also those of sulfite reductase, Cys synthase, and serine acetyltransferase. Our data demonstrate that sulfate reduction is regulated by nitrogen nutrition at the transcriptional level and that OAS plays a major role in this regulation.

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Plants can metabolize sulfate by two pathways, which branch at the level of adenosine 59-phosphosulfate (APS). APS can be reduced to sulfide and incorporated into Cys in the primary sulfate assimilation pathway or phosphorylated by APS kinase to 39-phosphoadenosine 59-phosphosulfate, which is the activated sulfate form for sulfation reactions. To assess to what extent APS kinase regulates accumulation of sulfated compounds, we analyzed the corresponding gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana. Analysis of T-DNA insertion knockout lines for each of the four isoforms did not reveal any phenotypical alterations. However, when all six combinations of double mutants were compared, the apk1 apk2 plants were significantly smaller than wild-type plants. The levels of glucosinolates, a major class of sulfated secondary metabolites, and the sulfated 12-hydroxyjasmonate were reduced approximately fivefold in apk1 apk2 plants. Although auxin levels were increased in the apk1 apk2 mutants, as is the case for most plants with compromised glucosinolate synthesis, typical high auxin phenotypes were not observed. The reduction in glucosinolates resulted in increased transcript levels for genes involved in glucosinolate biosynthesis and accumulation of desulfated precursors. It also led to great alterations in sulfur metabolism: the levels of sulfate and thiols increased in the apk1 apk2 plants. The data indicate that the APK1 and APK2 isoforms of APS kinase play a major role in the synthesis of secondary sulfated metabolites and are required for normal growth rates.

As the molecular mechanisms of regulation of the sulfate assimilation pathway are not known, the role of Arabidopsis as a model plant will be further strengthened. However, this review demonstrates that investigations of other plant species will still be necessary to address specific questions of regulation of sulfur nutrition.