Correlated induction of nitrate uptake and membrane polypeptides in corn roots

Induction of corn (Zea mays L.) seedling root membrane polypeptides was studied by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis in relation to induction of nitrate uptake. When nitrate uptake was studied using freshly harvested roots from 4-day old corn seedlings, a steady state rate of uptake was achieved after a lag of 2 to 3 hours. The plasma membrane fraction from freshly harvested roots (uninduced) and roots pretreated in 5 millimolar nitrate for 2.5 or 5 hours (induced) showed no differences in the major polypeptides with Coomassie blue staining. Autoradiography of the 35S-methionine labeled proteins, however, showed four polypeptides with approximate molecular masses of 165, 95, 70, and 40 kilodaltons as being induced by both 2.5 and 5-hour pretreatment in 5 millimolar nitrate. All four polypeptides appeared to be integral membrane proteins as shown by Triton X-114 (octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol) washing of the membrane vesicles. Autoradiography of the two-dimensional gels revealed that several additional low molecular weight proteins were induced. A 5-hour pretreatment in 5 millimolar chloride also induced several of the low molecular weight polypeptides, although a polypeptide of about 30 kilodaltons and a group of polypeptides around 40 kilodaltons appeared to be specifically induced by nitrate. The results are discussed in relation to the possibility that some of the polypeptides induced by nitrate treatment may be directly involved in nitrate transport through the plasma membrane.