2020/04/02 by Giles Oldroyd, Ottoline Leyser · 8 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis #Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism #Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
paper · doi:10.1126/science.aba0196
openalex publication_date 2020/04/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
As primary producers, plants rely on a large aboveground surface area to collect carbon dioxide and sunlight and a large underground surface area to collect the water and mineral nutrients needed to support their growth and development. Accessibility of the essential nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the soil is affected by many factors that create a variable spatiotemporal landscape of their availability both at the local and global scale. Plants optimize uptake of the N and P available through modifications to their growth and development and engagement with microorganisms that facilitate their capture. The sensing of these nutrients, as well as the perception of overall nutrient status, shapes the plant's response to its nutrient environment, coordinating its development with microbial engagement to optimize N and P capture and regulate overall plant growth.