Gene Discovery for Maize Responses to Nitrogen

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer are used to increase yields of cereal crops worldwide, resulting in higher crop input costs, greater energy requirements for crop production, and negative impacts on water quality due to excess nitrogen. Despite the widespread use of nitrogen fertilizer, little is known about the genes that control nitrogen use efficiency in cereal crops. This project will identify and characterize genes regulating nitrogen use efficiency in maize, a model system for plant genomics research and an economically important cereal crop. Experiments that integrate physiological, genetic, and functional genomics approaches will identify genes whose expression changes in response to nitrogen, from its uptake by roots to its use by developing seeds. Emphasis will be placed on key regulatory genes that are associated with nitrogen use efficiency in environments and germplasm relevant to crop production, including ongoing breeding efforts for improving maize nitrogen use efficiency in west central Africa. To this end, the project includes a Developing Country Collaboration with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IATA) in Nigeria to enhance ongoing breeding programs aimed at improving NUE for maize in Western and Central Africa. This project will provide training opportunities in the biology of the maize crop, plant genomics, and bioinformatics. All project data and results will be made available through scientific publications, outreach to scientific and public audiences, and through the project website, http://www.nitrogenes.uiuc.edu.