The discovery of plant traits that regulate the amino acid acquisition and utilization can be a game changer in plant breeding by allowing the identification of genotypes that show high productivity under low N input conditions that reduce adverse environmental N impacts. The identification of plants that vary in amino acid uptake and utilization will allow further investigation of this phenomenon at the molecular level

Nitrogen (N) fertilization provides profitable agriculture but leads to N losses that have adverse impacts on the environment and climate. Consequently, technologies are required that can reduce the amount of N applied for crop production while maintaining a sustainable harvestable yield. The soil N pool that is available for plant nutrition consists of inorganic (e.g., nitrate and ammonium) and soluble organic (e.g., amino acid [AA]) forms. Most studies have focused on the plant’s capacity to use inorganic N because of a strong belief in the dominant role of this N form in plant nutrition. However, a recent investigation has shown that the role of organic N  has been underestimated [1]. Therefore, more investigations are required to confirm the role of organic N in plant nutrition. We hypothesize that the cultivation of plants that can take up AA more efficiently will revolutionize crop production by substantially reducing N losses to the environment. These N losses occur as inorganic forms (emission of nitrogen oxides and ammonium emission and leaching of nitrate); therefore, cultivation of plants that can efficiently absorb AAs will reduce the conversion of soil AAs into inorganic N, thereby reducing N release into the environment. 

The AAs with the greatest abundance in soil are alanine, glycine, and glutamic acid. These AAs served both as an N source and as specific signals (or growth stimulators). You perform experiments under control conditions with the aim of obtaining a mechanistic understanding of the plant adaptation to organic nitrogen supply. You will work with contrasting wheat genotypes. In this study, various analytical and molecular approaches (e.g., metabolite and gene expression analysis) will be used to gain insight into the physiological mechanisms underlying plant response to different forms of organic N.