Hexavalent chromium stress enhances the uptake of nitrate but reduces the uptake of ammonium and glycine in pak choi (Brassica chinensis L.)

•Glycine is an effective nitrogen source for pak choi.•Cr stress hinderes the uptake of ammonium and glycine but increases the uptake of nitrate.•The metabolism of glycine to serine in roots is the limiting step for glycine N contribution under Cr stress.

Chromium (Cr) pollution affects plant growth and biochemical processes, so, the relative uptake of glycine, nitrate, and ammonium by pak choi (Brassica chinensis) seedlings in treatments with 0 mg L−1 and 10 mg L−1 Cr (VI) were detected by substrate-specific 15N-labelling in a sterile environment. The short-term uptake of 15N-labelled sources and 15N-enriched amino acids were detected by gas chromatography mass spectrometry to explore the mechanism by which Cr stress affects glycine uptake and metabolism, which showing that Cr stress hindered the uptake of ammonium and glycine but increased significantly the uptake of nitrate. Cr stress did not decrease the active or passive uptake of glycine, but it inhibited the conversion of glycine to serine in pak choi roots, indicating that the metabolism of glycine to serine in roots, rather than the root uptake, was the limiting step in glycine contribution to total N uptake in pak choi. Since Cr affects the relative uptake of different N sources, a feasible way to reduce Cr-induced stress is application of selective fertilization, in particular nitrate, in pak choi cultivation on Cr-polluted soil.