Research articleCalcium involved in the poly(γ-glutamic acid)-mediated promotion of Chinese cabbage nitrogen metabolism

•PGA enhanced the enzyme activities involved in N metabolism.•The promotional effects of PGA on plant growth were related to Ca2+.•PGA induced the influx of extracellular Ca2+ and Ca2+ in organelles into cytoplasm.•Ca2+-ATPase was increased by PGA to modify Ca2+ homeostasis.•PGA accelerates the N metabolism of plants through the Ca2+/CaM signaling pathway.

Plant growth can reportedly be promoted by poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA). However, the underlying mechanism is unknown. To reveal the mechanism of γ-PGA, we designed an experiment that investigated the effect of γ-PGA on the nitrogen metabolism of Chinese cabbage hydroponic cultured at different calcium (Ca) levels and varied exogenous Ca2+ inhibitors. The results showed that nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate synthase, and glutamate dehydrogenase activities in leaves and roots were obviously enhanced by γ-PGA at the normal Ca2+ level (4.0 mM). Meanwhile, γ-PGA increased the content of total nitrogen, soluble protein, and soluble amino acids in leaves. However, the promotional effect of γ-PGA on fresh weight weakened when Ca2+ was inadequate. Moreover, γ-PGA not only induced the influx of extracellular Ca2+ and Ca2+ in organelles into cytoplasm, but also increased the Ca2+-ATPase level to modify Ca2+ homeostasis in plant cells. In addition, exogenous Ca2+ inhibitors significantly suppressed the γ-PGA-mediated promotion of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ level, calmodulin (CaM) content, GS and glutamate dehydrogenase activities. In summary, γ-PGA accelerated the nitrogen metabolism of plants through the Ca2+/CaM signaling pathway, thereby improving the growth of the plant.