Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Different Responsive Patterns to Nitrogen Deficiency in Two Wheat Near-Isogenic Lines...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Sustainable agriculture requires crop cultivars with high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) under limited nitrogen (N) fertilizer.
• Understanding the molecular mechanisms of low-N resilience in high-NUE plants is crucial but underexplored.
• Comparing transcriptional responses in contrasting NUE genotypes can elucidate wheat's low-N stress adaptation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate genotypic differences in response to nitrogen deficiency in wheat.
• To identify molecular mechanisms underlying enhanced resilience to low-N stress in high-NUE wheat.

Main Methods:

• Utilized RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to compare gene expression profiles.
• Analyzed transcriptional responses of two wheat near-isogenic lines (NILs) contrasting for NUE (1Y: high-NUE, 1W: low-NUE) under N-deficient conditions.
• Classified N-responsive genes into "frontloaded genes" and "relatively upregulated genes".

Main Results:

• High- and low-NUE wheat NILs exhibited distinct gene expression patterns under N-deficient conditions.
• Identified 103 "frontloaded genes" in high-NUE wheat (1Y) and 45 in low-NUE wheat (1W).
• Observed differential regulation of N-responsive genes between the two genotypes.

Conclusions:

• Wheat genotypes with high NUE display unique transcriptional responses to low-N stress.
• The identified "frontloaded genes" may play a key role in high-NUE wheat adaptation to N-deficient environments.
• Findings provide potential avenues for understanding and improving NUE in wheat breeding programs.