Nitrate, NO and haemoglobin in plant adaptation to hypoxia: an alternative to classic fermentation pathways

The role of nitrate reduction to produce nitric oxide (NO) and its subsequent oxidation by oxyhaemoglobin as a mechanism to maintain plant cell energetics during hypoxia is examined. Nitrate reduction in hypoxic conditions can be considered as an alternative respiratory pathway, with nitrate as an intermediate electron acceptor, contributing to the oxidation of NADH. NO, produced in the reaction, does not accumulate due to the induction of hypoxia-induced (class 1) haemoglobins. These haemoglobins remain in the oxyhaemoglobin form, even at oxygen tensions two orders of magnitude lower than necessary to saturate cytochrome c oxidase. They act, probably in conjunction with a flavoprotein, as NO dioxygenases converting NO back to nitrate, consuming NAD(P)H in the process. The overall system oxidizes 2.5 moles of NADH per one mole of nitrate recycled during the reaction, leading to the maintenance of redox and energy status during hypoxia and resulting in the reduced production of ethanol and lactic acid.