Nitrate for Me, Ammonium for You: The interdependence of plant nitrogen uptake and plant responses to carbon dioxide is well established, but the influence of inorganic nitrogen form—i.e., whether nitrate or ammonium—has been largely ignored. Bloom et al. (p. 899 ) present evidence from five independent methods in both a monocot and dicot species that carbon dioxide inhibition of nitrate assimilation is a major determinant of plant responses to rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. This finding explains several phenomena, including carbon dioxide acclimation and decline in food quality. The large variation in these phenomena among species, locations, or years derives from the large variation in the relative dependence of plants on nitrate and ammonium as nitrogen sources among species, locations, or years. The relative importance of ammonium and nitrate for plant N nutrition in future cropping systems will be critical for quantity and quality of food.

Photorespiration, a process that diminishes net photosynthesis by ≈25% in most plants, has been viewed as the unfavorable consequence of plants having evolved when the atmosphere contained much higher levels of carbon dioxide than it does today. Here we used two independent methods to show that exposure ofArabidopsisand wheat shoots to conditions that inhibited photorespiration also strongly inhibited nitrate assimilation. Thus, nitrate assimilation in both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous species depends on photorespiration. This previously undescribed role for photorespiration (i) explains several responses of plants to rising carbon dioxide concentrations, including the inability of many plants to sustain rapid growth under elevated levels of carbon dioxide; and (ii) raises concerns about genetic manipulations to diminish photorespiration in crops.

Simultaneous measurements of CO ₂ and O ₂ fluxes from wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) shoots indicated that short-term exposures to elevated CO ₂ concentrations diverted photosynthetic reductant from NO \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{3}^{-}}}\end{equation*} or NO \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{2}^{-}}}\end{equation*} reduction to CO ₂ fixation. With longer exposures to elevated CO ₂ , wheat leaves showed a diminished capacity for NO \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{3}^{-}}}\end{equation*} photoassimilation at any CO ₂ concentration. Moreover, high bicarbonate levels impeded NO \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{2}^{-}}}\end{equation*} translocation into chloroplasts isolated from wheat or pea leaves. These results support the hypothesis that elevated CO ₂ inhibits NO \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{3}^{-}}}\end{equation*} photoassimilation. Accordingly, when wheat plants received NO \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{3}^{-}}}\end{equation*} rather than NH \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{4}^{+}}}\end{equation*} as a nitrogen source, CO ₂ enhancement of shoot growth halved and CO ₂ inhibition of shoot protein doubled. This result will likely have major implications for the ability of wheat to use NO \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{3}^{-}}}\end{equation*} as a nitrogen source under elevated CO ₂ .