Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2012 Dec;10(9):1011-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2012.00700.x. Epub 2012 May 18.
In the last 40 years the amount of synthetic nitrogen (N) applied to crops has risen drastically, resulting in significant increases in yield but with considerable impacts on the environment. A requirement for crops that require decreased N fertilizer levels has been recognized in the call for a 'Second Green Revolution' and research in the field of nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has continued to grow. This has prompted a search to identify genes that improve the NUE of crop plants, with candidate NUE genes existing in pathways relating to N uptake, assimilation, amino acid biosynthesis, C/N storage and metabolism, signalling and regulation of N metabolism and translocation, remobilization and senescence. Herein is a review of the approaches taken to determine possible NUE candidate genes, an overview of experimental study of these genes as effectors of NUE in both cereal and non-cereal plants and the processes of commercialization of enhanced NUE crop plants. Patents issued regarding increased NUE in plants as well as gene pyramiding studies are also discussed as well as future directions of NUE research.
在过去的 40 年里，施用于农作物的合成氮 (N) 量急剧增加，导致产量显著增加，但对环境也造成了相当大的影响。“第二次绿色革命”呼吁减少氮肥用量，这对作物提出了要求，而氮利用效率 (NUE) 领域的研究也在继续增长。这促使人们寻找可以提高作物氮利用效率的基因，候选氮利用效率基因存在于与氮吸收、同化、氨基酸生物合成、C/N 储存和代谢、氮代谢和转运、再利用和衰老的信号和调节有关的途径中。本文综述了确定可能的氮利用效率候选基因的方法，概述了这些基因作为谷类和非谷类植物氮利用效率效应物的实验研究，以及提高氮利用效率作物植物商业化的过程。还讨论了与提高植物氮利用效率相关的专利以及基因聚合研究，以及氮利用效率研究的未来方向。
