Nitrate Uptake by Dark-grown Corn Seedlings: Some Characteristics of Apparent Induction

Five-or six-day old seedlings of corn (Zea mays L.) were exposed to 0.25 mm Ca(NO₃)₂, 1.0 mm sodium 2-N-morpholino]-ethanesulfonate, 5 μg Mo per liter and 50 μg of chloramphenicol per ml at pH 6. Nitrate uptake was determined from depletion of the ambient solution. The pattern of nitrate uptake was characterized, after the first 20 minutes, by a low rate which increased steadily to a maximal rate by 3 to 4 hours. Transfer of nitrate to the xylem did not totally account for the increase. Development of the maximal accelerated rate did not occur at 3 C with excised roots nor with seedlings whose endosperm had been removed. Use of CaCl₂ rather than Ca(NO₃)₂ resulted in a linear rate of chloride uptake during the first 4 hours, and chloride uptake was not as restricted by endosperm removal as was nitrate uptake.