Sugarcane genotypes differ in internal nitrogen use efficiency
Nicole Robinson A B E , Andrew Fletcher A B , Alex Whan A B , Christa Critchley A B , Nicolaus von Wirén C , Prakash Lakshmanan B D and Susanne Schmidt A BA School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
B CRC for Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia.
C Institute for Plant Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, D-70593 Stuttgart, Germany.
D BSES Ltd, 50 Meiers Road, Indooroopilly, Qld 4068, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: Nicole.Robinson@uq.edu.au
Functional Plant Biology 34(12) 1122-1129 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP07183
Submitted: 26 July 2007 Accepted: 10 October 2007 Published: 27 November 2007
Abstract
The large amounts of nitrogen (N) fertiliser applied to most cropping systems support high yields but cause N pollution. More efficient use of N in cropping systems can be achieved through improved N management practices combined with genetic improvement of the crop. The magnitude of genetic variation in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) for internal nitrogen use efficiency (iNUE, biomass produced per unit tissue N) was investigated as this could provide a basis for breeding varieties with reduced N demand. Genotypes of a mapping population were examined for biomass production and physiological variables under low or high N supply in controlled conditions. Key findings were: (i) genotypic variation for biomass production and iNUE was up to 3-fold greater under low than high N supply, (ii) elite parent Q165
was among the best performing genotypes for biomass and iNUE at high N but not at low N supply, and (iii) several genotypes had high iNUE at both N supplies. While glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2) activity has been linked with grain yield in other crops, no direct relationship was observed between whole tissue GS activity and vegetative biomass or iNUE in sugarcane genotypes. Soluble protein content was negatively correlated with iNUE and biomass production. This study demonstrates that there is considerable genetic variation for iNUE in sugarcane, which can be exploited for breeding. It is proposed that breeding programs should assess genotypes not only at high N, but also at low N supply rates to select genotypes that produce high biomass with low and high N supply.
Additional keywords: biomass crop, genetic variation, glutamine synthetase, plant breeding.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation Through Biotechnology (CRC SIIB). We thank CRC SIIB internship students Richard Brackin, Heather Vikstrom, Jenny Vo, Thi Hoang, Michael Christie, Nicole Schmid and Harshi Gamage for help with glasshouse and laboratory work. We thank Terry Morgan from CSR Kalamia for providing the sett material, and Jo Stringer from BSES for statistical consultation. We also thank Dr Bertrand Hirel from INRA for his help with development of high through put enzyme assay techniques and insightful discussions on NUE.
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