Improving nitrogen uptake efficiency by chitin nanofiber promotes growth in tomato

Nanofibrillation is an Effective Method to Produce Chitin Derivatives for Induction of Plant Responses in Soybean

“…This is the first report that directly and comprehensively compared the effects of high- and low-molecular-weight chitins on plants by transcriptome analysis using RNA-seq. In a previous study [ 10 ], both CO and CNF showed growth-promoting action on the aerial parts of tomato by improving nitrogen uptake efficiency, which is inconsistent with the results of promoting effects on soybean growth found in this study. The transcriptome analysis of CNF-treated tomato indicated that the expression levels of genes related to nitrogen acquisition and assimilation and nutrient allocation were changed [ 10 ].…”

“…Soybean plants were grown in soil supplemented with CO and CNF but without any nutrients, because soybeans can be grown only using their own nutrients that are stored in its seeds from germination to the primary growth stage. Using this growth condition, the growth-promoting effects of both CO and CNF associated with nitrogen uptake efficiency, which was already reported previously [ 10 ], can be eliminated. The significant increase in shoot length was observed only in CNF-treated plants, whereas the root length in CO-treated plants was higher than in the other groups ( Figure 1 a).…”

“…CNF application at high concentrations strongly induced disease resistance but simultaneously inhibited plant growth, which may be caused by the tradeoff between growth and defense [ 6 , 9 ]. CNF application under nutrient-limiting conditions also showed a growth-promoting action and significantly increased nitrogen content associated with high nitrogen uptake efficiency in hydroponically cultivated tomato [ 10 ]. It is worth noting that CNF-induced ROS production level was higher than that induced by COs (the mixture of DP [degree of polymerization] 2–6, and DP6) in Arabidopsis and rice, whereas any significant difference in the effects of CO and CNF was not observed on disease resistance in Arabidopsis by foliar application and on growth promotion in tomato [ 5 , 10 ].…”

“…CNF application under nutrient-limiting conditions also showed a growth-promoting action and significantly increased nitrogen content associated with high nitrogen uptake efficiency in hydroponically cultivated tomato [ 10 ]. It is worth noting that CNF-induced ROS production level was higher than that induced by COs (the mixture of DP [degree of polymerization] 2–6, and DP6) in Arabidopsis and rice, whereas any significant difference in the effects of CO and CNF was not observed on disease resistance in Arabidopsis by foliar application and on growth promotion in tomato [ 5 , 10 ]. The mode of action by CO and CNF seems to be common, but it has been unclear yet whether the degree of those effects is the same or not since the specific function of CNF has not been found in plants so far.…”

Nutrient solutions for Arabidopsis thaliana: a study on nutrient solution composition in hydroponics systems

“…As documented in detail in Nazarideljou et al [33] other cultivation system optimizations that significantly improved plant growth were: size reduction of the microtube that holds the plant from 2.5 to 1 cm length, creating a high humidity in the mini greenhouses (> 90%) at seedling stage, and a larger growth space than the pipet trays that are traditionally used at early stages of development [6]. HYPONeX (Japan Co Ltd) ( Tables 3 and 4) is a commercially available nutrient solution used in Arabidopsis research [34][35][36][37][38]. Although this solution performs well in substrate-based systems, it is lethal when we used it as nutrient solution in deep water culture.…”