Nitrate transceptor(s) in plants

The availability of mineral nutrients in the soil dramatically fluctuates in both time and space. In order to optimize their nutrition, plants need efficient sensing systems that rapidly signal the local external concentrations of the individual nutrients. Until recently, the most upstream actors of the nutrient signalling pathways, i.e. the sensors/receptors that perceive the extracellular nutrients, were unknown. In Arabidopsis, increasing evidence suggests that, for nitrate, the main nitrogen source for most plant species, a major sensor is the NRT1.1 nitrate transporter, also contributing to nitrate uptake by the roots. Membrane proteins that fulfil a dual nutrient transport/signalling function have been described in yeast and animals, and are called 'transceptors'. This review aims to illustrate the nutrient transceptor concept in plants by presenting the current evidence indicating that NRT1.1 is a representative of this class of protein. The various facets, as well as the mechanisms of nitrate sensing by NRT1.1 are considered, and the possible occurrence of other nitrate transceptors is discussed.