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The form of nitrogen nutrition affects many biochemical and physiological processes in plants, leading to markedly different growth responses. Many plant species have been characterized as ammonium tolerant or sensitive. The objective of this work was to assess the range of physiological adaptative responses involved in tolerance of ammonium nutrition at the intra-specific level. Pisum sativum L. was selected as a model of tolerance for the study, and four varieties of agricultural importance (Snap-pea, Rondo, Tristar and Eclipse) were grown hydroponically with ammonium or nitrate (0.5, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0mM) as the sole nitrogen source. Physiological parameters including photosynthesis, respiration and ammonium contents were analyzed. Activities/expression of key enzymes of the nitrogen metabolism was also determined, for which novel antibodies against glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase …