Plants can produce and emit nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, and several field-based studies have concluded that this gas is emitted at substantial amounts. However, the exact mechanisms of N₂O production in plant cells are unknown. Several studies have hypothesised that plants might act as a medium to transport N₂O produced by soil-inhabiting microorganisms. Contrarily, aseptically grown plants and axenic algal cells supplied with nitrate (NO₃) are reported to emit N₂O, indicating that it is produced inside plant cells by some unknown physiological phenomena. In this study, the possible sites, mechanisms, and enzymes involved in N₂O production in plant cells are discussed. Based on the experimental evidence from various studies, we determined that N₂O can be produced from nitric oxide (NO) in the mitochondria of plants. NO, a signaling molecule, is produced through oxidative and reductive pathways in eukaryotic cells. During hypoxia and anoxia, NO₃ in the cytosol is metabolised to produce nitrite (NO₂), which is reduced to form NO via the reductive pathway in the mitochondria. Under low oxygen condition, NO formed in the mitochondria is further reduced to N₂O by the reduced form of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO). This pathway is active only when cells experience hypoxia or anoxia, and it may be involved in N₂O formation in plants and soil-dwelling animals, as reported previously by several studies. NO can be toxic at a high concentration. Therefore, the reduction of NO to N₂O in the mitochondria might protect the integrity of the mitochondria, and thus, protect the cell from the toxicity of NO accumulation under hypoxia and anoxia. As NO₃ is a major source of nitrogen for plants and all plants may experience hypoxic and anoxic conditions owing to soil environmental factors, a significant global biogenic source of N₂O may be its formation in plants via the proposed pathway.

植物可以产生并向大气排放一氧化二氮（N ₂ O），这是一种有力的温室气体，一些野外研究得出的结论是，这种气体的排放量很大。但是，尚不清楚植物细胞中N ₂ O产生的确切机制。多项研究假设植物可能充当运输土壤居住微生物产生的N ₂ O的媒介。相反，据报道，无菌生长的植物和带有硝酸盐（NO ₃）的轴生藻类细胞会释放N ₂ O，这表明它是由一些未知的生理现象在植物细胞内部产生的。在这项研究中，N ₂可能涉及的位点，机制和酶讨论了植物细胞中的O产生。基于从各种研究的实验证据，我们确定n ₂ O可以从在植物的线粒体一氧化氮（NO）产生。NO，一种信号分子，是通过真核细胞中的氧化和还原途径产生的。在缺氧和缺氧期间，胞浆中的NO ₃被代谢产生亚硝酸盐（NO ₂），亚硝酸盐被还原形成NO。通过线粒体中的还原途径。在低氧气条件下，在线粒体NO形成被进一步还原成N ₂通过的细胞色素C氧化酶（CCO）的还原形式O操作。如先前几项研究报道，该途径仅在细胞经历缺氧或缺氧时才有效，并且可能参与植物和土壤动物的N ₂ O形成。NO在高浓度下可能有毒。因此，线粒体中NO还原为N ₂ O可能保护线粒体的完整性，从而保护细胞免受缺氧和缺氧条件下NO积累的毒性。作为NO ₃是植物的主要氮源，由于土壤环境因素，所有植物都可能经历缺氧和缺氧条件，N ₂ O的重要全球生物成因可能是其在植物中的形成通过 建议的途径。