Genotypic variation in the uptake, partitioning and remobilisation of nitrogen during grain-filling in wheat.

Twenty elite varieties of wheat ( L.), primarily winter wheat, were grown with low and high supplies of nitrogen (N) in a field experiment at Rothamsted, southern England, in the season 2004-05. The aim was to quantify genetic variation in the uptake, partitioning and remobilisation of N in individual plant organs at extreme rates of N supply.

A sulphur deficiency-induced gene, sdi1, involved in the utilization of stored sulphate pools under sulphur-limiting conditions has potential as a diagnostic indicator of sulphur nutritional status.

A sulphate deficiency-induced gene, sdi1, has been identified by cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis utilizing field-grown, nutrient-deficient wheat (Triticum aestivum var. Hereward). The expression of sdi1 was specifically induced in leaf and root tissues in response to sulphate deficiency, but was not induced by nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium or magnesium deficiency.

Co-ordinated expression of amino acid metabolism in response to N and S deficiency during wheat grain filling.

Increasing demands for productivity together with environmental concerns about fertilizer use dictate that the future sustainability of agricultural systems will depend on improving fertilizer use efficiency. Characterization of the biological processes responsible for efficient fertilizer use will provide tools for crop improvement under reduced inputs. Transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches were used to study the impact of nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) deficiency on N and S remobilization from senescing canopy tissues during grain filling in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum).

Markedly different gene expression in wheat grown with organic or inorganic fertilizer.

Nitrogen is the major determinant of crop yield and quality and the precise management of nitrogen fertilizer is an important issue for farmers and environmentalists. Despite this, little is known at the level of gene expression about the response of field crops to different amounts and forms of nitrogen fertilizer. Here we use expressed sequence tag (EST)-based wheat microarrays in combination with the oldest continuously running agricultural experiment in the world to show that gene expression is significantly influenced by the amount and form of nitrogenous fertilizer.