Identification of traits and genetic markers to reduce the nitrogen requirement and improve the grain protein concentration of winter wheat

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This proposal focuses on the biological question of what traits and genes are responsible for the ability of certain wheat lines to 1) produce more yield for each kg of fertiliser N applied and 2) demonstrate higher and more stable grain protein content than others. The programme works to identify genetic markers in winter wheat backgrounds that breeders can use as selection criteria. For this purpose, altering the partitioning of N between plant organs could be easier and more useful than altering single metabolic processes such as photosynthesis. Around 25-30% of total canopy N at flowering is stored in the true stem, and the role of this N is not well understood. Our experiments show that grain N accumulation is mostly regulated by differences in N `supply¿ in the vegetative organs. Therefore, we will test the hypotheses that:1) lower fertiliser N requirement in feed wheats is correlated with lower accumulation of stem N at flowering, 2) higher and more stable grain protein concentration in bread-making wheats is correlated with higher leaf N accumulation at flowering. Physiologists, geneticists, modellers and breeders will collaborate to characterise and integrate Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) traits into elite wheat germplasm. Two suitable doubled haploid populations are available representing available genetic variation for extremes of positive or negative departures from the grain yield to protein concentration relationship. Specific objectives are to: 1) identify traits associated with lower fertiliser N requirement and increased grain protein concentration; 2) identify QTL associated with these traits; 3) identify lines in wheat mutant populations for NUE traits to investigate their inheritance and also characterise them at the molecular level for candidate genes to identify further allelic diversity.

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