Influence of Nickel on Urease Activity and Nitrogen Dynamics in Maize (Zea mays) Under Saline Conditions
Abstract views: 39
/ 
PDF downloads: 39
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14306271Keywords:
Nickel, Urease, salinity, nitrogen uptake, nitrogen metabolismAbstract
Nickel (Ni) is a vital micronutrient that significantly contributes to essential plant functions, including normal growth, enzymatic activities, and nitrogen metabolism. Soil urease activity can markedly decrease under saline conditions, and both plants and soil organisms necessitate Ni for the effective assimilation of urea. This study investigates the effects of varying levels of Ni supplementation (0, 25, 50, and 100 mg kg-1) under saline soil conditions on soil and plant urease activity, biomass yield, chlorophyll content, nitrogen (N) content, and nitrate assimilation. Thermal imaging was employed to assess plant stress by measuring leaf temperature. Results showed that the 25 mg kg-1 Ni treatment notably improved soil urease activity, leading to enhanced nitrogen uptake and biomass production. This Ni dose also resulted in the lowest leaf temperature in maize, indicating reduced stress. Low Ni levels increased nitrate reductase (NR) activity, nitrate content, and free amino acids in maize, while sharply reducing ammonium accumulation, suggesting that Ni promotes plant growth by regulating nitrogen assimilation. However, the 100 mg kg-1 dose caused toxicity in maize. All Ni concentrations decreased plant urease activity, indicating decreased urea uptake from the soil. Overall, these findings suggest that low doses of Ni support nitrogen metabolism and plant performance by regulating urease activity in both soil and plants, while higher doses have toxic effects.
References
Alibakhshi, M., Khoshgoftarmanesh, A.H., 2016. The effect of nickel supply on bulb yield, urease and glutamine synthetase activity and concentrations of urea, amino acids and nitrogen of urea-fed onion plants. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 62(1): 37-51.
Arif, Y., Singh, P., Siddiqui, H., Bajguz, A., Hayat, S., 2020. Salinity induced physiological and biochemical changes in plants: An omic approach towards salt stress tolerance. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 156: 64-77.
Baethgen, W.E., Alley, M.M., 1989. A manual colorimetric procedure for measuring ammonium nitrogen in soil and plant Kjeldahl digests. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 20(9-10): 961-969.
Balasubramaniam, T., Shen, G., Esmaeili, N., Zhang, H., 2023. Plants’ response mechanisms to salinity stress. Plants, 12(12): 2253.
Barcelos, J.P. de Q., Osorio, ´ C.R.W. de S., Leal, A.J.F., Alves, C.Z., Santos, E.F., Reis, H.P.G., Reis, A.R.D., 2017. Effects of foliar nickel (Ni) application on mineral nutrition status, urease activity and physiological quality of soybean seeds. Australian Journal of Crop Science, 11: 184–192.
Barcelos, J.P.Q., Reis, H.P.G., Godoy, C.V., Gratão, P.L., Furlani Junior, E., Putti, F.F., Campos, M., Reis, A.R., 2018. Impact of foliar nickel application on urease activity, antioxidant metabolism and control of powdery mildew (Microsphaera diffusa) in soybean plants. Plant Pathology, 67(7): 1502-1513.
Canavar, Ö., Öncan Sümer, F., 2023. The Effect of Foliar Application of Potassıum Fertilizer at Seedling Stage of Soybean Plants Under Salinity. MAS Journal of Applied Sciences, 8(3): 606-618.
Ceritoğlu, M., Erman, M., Yildiz, F., 2020. Effect of salinity on germination and some agro-morphological traits in chickpea seedlings. ISPEC Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 4(1): 82-96.
D’Agostino, I., Carradori, S., 2024. Urease. In: C.T. Supuran, W.A. Donald (Eds), Metalloenzymes, Elsevier: Academic Press, pp. 393-410.
Dimkpa, C.O., Fugice, J., Singh, U., Lewis, T.D., 2020. Development of fertilizers for enhanced nitrogen use efficiency–Trends and perspectives. Science of the Total Environment, 731: 139113.
Erdel, E., 2022. Effects of salinity and alkalinity on soil enzyme activities in soil aggregates of different sizes. Eurasian Soil Science, 55(6): 759-765.
Gerendás, J., Sattelmacher, B., 1997. Significance of Ni supply for growth, urease activity and the concentrations of urea, amino acids and mineral nutrients of urea-grown plants. Plant and Soil, 190: 153-162.
Gerendás, J., Zhu, Z., Sattelmacher, B., 1998. Influence of N and Ni supply on nitrogen metabolism and urease activity in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Journal of Experimental Botany, 49(326): 1545-1554.
Gheibi, M.N., Kholdebarin, B., Ghanati, F., Teimouri, S., Niroomand, N., Samavati, M., 2009. Urease activity in maize (Zea maize L. CV. 704) as affected by nickel and nitrogen sources. Iranian Journal of Science, 33(4): 299-307.
Goswami, S., Singh, S.K., Patra, A., Dutta, A., Mohapatra, K.K., 2022. Residual effects of nickel and its interaction with applied zinc and npk improve the growth, yield, and nutritional quality of cowpea and urease activity of soil grown in vertisols. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 22(4): 4262-4272.
Gören, H.K., Tan, U., Küçük Kaya, S., Canavar, Ö., 2024. The Role of K-Humate and Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Enhancing Nutrient Accumulation and Salinity Stress Tolerance in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). MAS Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(Special Isssue): 879–891.
Grzyb, A., Wolna-Maruwka, A., Niewiadomska, A., 2021. The significance of microbial transformation of nitrogen compounds in the light of integrated crop management. Agronomy, 11(7): 1415.
Hassan, M.U., Chattha, M.U., Khan, I., Chattha, M.B., Aamer, M., Nawaz, M., Ali, A., Khan, M.A.U., and Khan, T. A., 2019. Nickel toxicity in plants: reasons, toxic effects, tolerance mechanisms, and remediation possibilities—a review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26: 12673-12688.
Hessini, K., Issaoui, K., Ferchichi, S., Saif, T., Abdelly, C., Siddique, K.H., Cruz, C., 2019. Interactive effects of salinity and nitrogen forms on plant growth, photosynthesis and osmotic adjustment in maize. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 139: 171-178.
Hogan, M.E., Swift, I.E., Done, J., 1983. Urease assay and ammonia release from leaf tissues. Phytochemistry, 22(3): 663-667.
Hussain, S.J., Khan, N.A., Anjum, N.A., Masood, A., Khan, M.I.R., 2021. Mechanistic elucidation of salicylic acid and sulphur-induced defence systems, nitrogen metabolism, photosynthetic, and growth potential of mungbean (Vigna radiata) under salt stress. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 40: 1000-1016.
Oliveira, T.C., Fontes, R.L.F., Rezende, S.T.D., Víctor Hugo, A.V., 2013. Effects of nickel and nitrogen soil fertilization on lettuce growth and urease activity. Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo, 37: 698-706.
Kamboj, N., Malik, R.S., Dhanker, P., Kumar, A., 2018. Importance of nickel in crops. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 7(3): 3470-3475.
Kaur, H., Kaur, H., Kaur, H., and Srivastava, S., 2023. The beneficial roles of trace and ultratrace elements in plants. Plant Growth Regulation, 100(2): 219-236.
Khoshgoftarmanesh, A.H., Hosseini, F., Afyuni, M., 2011. Nickel supplementation effect on the growth, urease activity and urea and nitrate concentrations in lettuce supplied with different nitrogen sources. Scientia Horticulturae, 130(2): 381-385.
Kutman, B.Y., Kutman, U.B., Cakmak, I., 2014. Effects of seed nickel reserves or externally supplied nickel on the growth, nitrogen metabolites and nitrogen use efficiency of urea-or nitrate-fed soybean. Plant and Soil, 376: 261-276.
Lavres, J., Castro Franco, G., de Sousa Câmara, G.M., 2016. Soybean seed treatment with nickel improves biological nitrogen fixation and urease activity. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 4: 37.
Li, X., Wang, A., Wan, W., Luo, X., Zheng, L., He, G., Huang, D., Chen, W., Huang, Q., 2021. High salinity inhibits soil bacterial community mediating nitrogen cycling. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 87(21): e01366-21.
Liu, L., Wang, B., Liu, D., Zou, C., Wu, P., Wang, Z., Wang, Y., Li, C., 2020. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal mechanisms of adaptation to salinity in which carbon and nitrogen metabolism is altered in sugar beet roots. BMC Plant Biology, 20: 1-21.
Mazzei, L., Musiani, F., Ciurli, S., 2020. The structure-based reaction mechanism of urease, a nickel dependent enzyme: tale of a long debate. JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 25(6): 829-845.
Parwez, R., Nabi, A., Mukarram, M., Aftab, T., Khan, M.M.A., Naeem, M., 2021. Role of nickel in regulation of nitrogen metabolism in legume–rhizobium symbiosis under critical conditions. In: T. Aftab, K.R. Hakeem (Eds), Frontiers in plant-soil interaction, Elsevier: Academic Press, pp. 495-522.
Ramazanoglu, E., 2023. Effects of biochar application as a carbon substrate on cotton plant growth and some soil enzymes. ISPEC Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 7(4): 904-915.
Ramazanoglu, E., Cun, S., Cevheri, C.I., Beyyavas, V., Sakin, E., 2024. Cottonseed meal soil application, nutrient uptake, biochemical attributes of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and activities of soil enzymes in saline soil. Journal of Elementology, 29(3).
Robertson, G.P., Groffman, P.M., 2024. Nitrogen transformations. In: E.A. Paul, S.D. Frey (Eds), Soil Microbiology, Ecology and Biochemistry, 5th edn, Elsevier, pp. 407-438.
Sabir, M., Ghafoor, A., Zia-ur-Rehman, M., Ahmad, H. R., Aziz, T., 2011. Growth and metal ionic composition of Zea mays as affected by nickel supplementation in the nutrient solution. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 13(2).
Sakamoto, T., Bryant, D.A., 2001. Requirement of nickel as an essential micronutrient for the utilization of urea in the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Microbes and Environments, 16(3): 177-184.
Shahid, M.A., Sarkhosh, A., Khan, N., Balal, R.M., Ali, S., Rossi, L., Gómez, C., Mattson, N., Nasim, W., Garcia-Sanchez, F., 2020. Insights into the physiological and biochemical impacts of salt stress on plant growth and development. Agronomy, 10(7): 938.
Singh, A., 2022. Soil salinity: A global threat to sustainable development. Soil Use and Management, 38(1): 39-67.
Singh, R.P., Chandel, S.K.S., Yadav, P.K., Singh, S.N., 2011. Effect of Ni on nitrogen uptake and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum). Indian Journal of Scientific Research, 2(4): 61-63.
Sun, H., Qu, J., Wang, X., Zheng, W., Li, C., Liu, Y., 2021. The response of soil organic nitrogen fractions and nitrogen availability to salinity in saline soils of the Yellow River Delta. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 29(8): 1397-1404.
Tabatabai, M.A., Bremner, J.M., 1972. Assay of urease activity in soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 4(4): 479–87.
Tabatabaei, S.J., 2009. Supplements of nickel affect yield, quality, and nitrogen metabolism when urea or nitrate is the sole nitrogen source for cucumber. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 32(5): 713-724.
Tan, X.W., Ikeda, H., Oda, M., 2000. Effects of nickel concentration in the nutrient solution on the nitrogen assimilation and growth of tomato seedlings in hydroponic culture supplied with urea or nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. Scientia Horticulturae, 84(3-4): 265-273.
Tian, J., Pang, Y., Yuan, W., Peng, J., Zhao, Z., 2022. Growth and nitrogen metabolism in Sophora japonica (L.) as affected by salinity under different nitrogen forms. Plant Science, 322: 111347.
Turan, V., 2022. Calcite in combination with olive pulp biochar reduces Ni mobility in soil and its distribution in chili plant. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 24(2): 166-176.
Wang, J., Yang, C., Guo, Z., 2021. Response of enzyme activity of cultivated saline soil to sand covering. In: B. Nurhadi (Ed), IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, pp. 42043.
Wei, M.I.N., Guo, H.J., Zhang, W., Zhou, G.W., Jun, Y.E., Hou, Z.A., 2016. Irrigation water salinity and N fertilization: Effects on ammonia oxidizer abundance, enzyme activity and cotton growth in a drip irrigated cotton field. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 15(5): 1121-1131.
Witte, C.P., 2011. Urea metabolism in plants. Plant Science, 180(3): 431-438.
Yang, J.E., Kim, J.J., Skogley, E.O., Schaff, B.E., 1998. A simple spectrophotometric determination of nitrate in water, resin, and soil extracts. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 62: 1108–1115.
Yaşar, F., Yıldırım, Ö., Üzal, Ö., 2020. Investigation of the effect of calcium applications on antioxidative enzyme activities in pepper plant under salt stres. ISPEC Journal of Agricultural Science, 4(2): 346-357.
Yao, R., Li, H., Yang, J., Yin, C., Wang, X., Xie, W., Zhang, X., 2021. Interactive effects of amendment materials and soil salinity on net rates of urea hydrolysis and nitrification in salt-affected soil. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 21: 3414-3427.
Zhang, G., Bai, J., Zhai, Y., Jia, J., Zhao, Q., Wang, W., Hu, X., 2024. Microbial diversity and functions in saline soils: A review from a biogeochemical perspective. Journal of Advanced Research, 59: 129-140.
Zhang, K., Li, S., Xu, Y., Zhou, Y., Ran, S., Zhao, H., Huang, W., Xu, R., Zhong, F., 2022. Effect of Nickel Ions on the Physiological and Transcriptional Responses to Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism in Tomato Roots under Low Nitrogen Levels. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(19): 11398.
Zhou, M., Butterbach‐Bahl, K., Vereecken, H., Brüggemann, N., 2017. A meta‐analysis of soil salinization effects on nitrogen pools, cycles and fluxes in coastal ecosystems. Global Change Biology, 23(3): 1338-1352.
Zhu, H.Y., Gan, B., Xu, J.B., Liang, F., Zhou, B.B., Sun, Y., Duan, M.L., Bai, Y.H., 2023. Effect of Soil Salinity on Nitrogen Transformation in Soil with Nitrogen Fertilizer Application. Applied Ecology & Environmental Research, 21(6).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 The copyright of the published article belongs to its author.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The journal is licensed under a 