Wheat Khapter represents an object of scientific research aimed at studying the regulation of nitrate metabolism in plant roots. In particular, a new concept based on anion polyc compart mentation was proposed, which allows detailed analysis of processes of nitrate uptake, compartmentation, and reduction in roots, as well as its translocation to above-ground plant parts. The studies were conducted on wheat seedlings grown under different temperatures (25 and 12°C), which enabled the identification of the influence of temperature conditions on nitrate metabolism and its distribution in plant tissues.
In wheat roots, nitrate is distributed among several functional pools: storage, metabolic, and mobile, the latter responsible for anion transport to shoots. Changes in growing temperature affect the net nitrate uptake rate, the ratio of incoming and outgoing fluxes, the size of the mobile pool, and the intensity of translocation. Fluctuations in nitrate concentration in tissues and uptake rates indicate a complex dynamics of metabolic processes regulated by temperature.
A mathematical model based on a system of linear differential equations was developed to describe these processes. After simplification, the model reduces to two equations demonstrating the existence of a limit cycle in certain parameter ranges, reflecting stable regulation of nitrate metabolism. The model explains the mechanism of positive feedback, where nitrate transport from the newly absorbed pool to the translocation pool is regulated by nitrate in the mobile pool, formed in root cortex cells. This helps better understand the physiological mechanisms of wheat adaptation to different growing conditions.
