Abstract
Recent advances in our understanding of the enzymology and regulatory systems involved in microbial metabolism of N hold promise to elucidate some of the underlying factors controlling metabolism of N in soil ecosystems. A review of recent work is used to construct a paradigm for N metabolism regulation in soil based on the central role of glutamine synthetase (GS) in such regulation within the soil microbial community. The studies involved use of GS inhibitors to elucidate the role of GS activity in regulation of soil N metabolism. Such studies have shown that the glutamine formed by microbial assimilation of NHM +4 via GS activity influences the regulatory mechanisms controlling both the production and activity of enzymes involved in N metabolism. For example, these studies showed that the inhibition of GS activity within the soil microbial community relieved the repression of urease production caused by microbial assimilation of inorganic N and blocked the short-term regulation of assimilatory nitrate reductase (ANR) by NH +4 assimilation. Other studies have indicated that common environmental factors in soil may influence GS activity in microorganisms and thereby may influence metabolism of N within the soil microbial community. The paradigm for N metabolism regulation in soil that has emerged from such studies should lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling fate of N in soil ecosystems.
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McCarty, G.W. (1995). The role of glutamine synthetase in regulation of nitrogen metabolism within the soil microbial community. In: Collins, H.P., Robertson, G.P., Klug, M.J. (eds) The Significance and Regulation of Soil Biodiversity. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 63. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0479-1_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0479-1_13
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