Can NO Signaling and Its Metabolism Be Used to Improve Nutrient Use Efficiency? Toward a Research Agenda

BUET, AGUSTINA; LUQUET, MELISA; SANTA-MARÍA, GUILLERMO E.; GALATRO, ANDREA

Frontiers in Plant Science

Frontiers Media S.A.

Lugar: Lausana; Año: 2022 vol. 13

One important issue to be faced by modern agriculture is ensuring the efficient use of the essential nutrients taken up from the soil solution. Improving nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) can be afforded through multiple strategies. Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to play important roles in processes influencing the acquisition and the utilization of these macronutrients and could be thought as a tool for improving NUE. In spite of the significant advances already made, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the extent to what and how manipulation of NO metabolism/signaling can be readily used to improve NUE. In this opinion article we highlight the unknowns that must be known in order to make that use feasible while propose some priorities to be assumed by a research agenda. Given the various roles covered by NO in plants, special attention should be paid to decipher the occurrence of unwanted collateral effects emerging as a consequence of NO manipulation. We emphasize the notion that the use of NO to improve NUE will require deep knowledge on the signaling network involved, as well as suitable quantitative assessments of NUE and its components across multiple environments.