Qinghai University/Qinghai Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences/Northwest potato Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education/Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Xining, 810016, Qinghai, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2022 Jun 9;22(1):282. doi: 10.1186/s12870-022-03652-3.
Nitrogen (N) is a major element and fundamental constituent of grain yield. N fertilizer plays an essential role in the roots, shoots, and leaves of crop plants. Here, we obtained two N-sensitive potato cultivars.
The plants were cultivated in the pots using N-deficient and N-sufficient conditions. Crop height, leaf chlorophyll content, dry matter, and N-accumulation significantly decreased under N-deficient conditions. Furthermore, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the phenotype and transcriptome, GO terms, and KEGG pathways. We used WGCNA of co-expressed genes, and 116 differentially expressed hub genes involved in photosynthesis, nitrogen metabolism, and secondary metabolites to generate 23 modules. Among those modules, six NRT gene families, four pigment genes, two auxin-related genes, and two energy-related genes were selected for qRT-PCR validation.
Overall, our study demonstrates the co-expressed genes and potential pathways associated with N transport and accumulation in potato cultivars' roots, shoots, and leaves under N-deficient conditions. Therefore, this study provides new ideas to conduct further research on improving nitrogen use efficiency in potatoes.
氮（N）是谷物产量的主要元素和基本组成部分。氮肥在作物植物的根、茎和叶中起着至关重要的作用。在这里，我们获得了两个对氮敏感的马铃薯品种。
在缺氮和氮充足的条件下，用盆栽法种植这些植物。在缺氮条件下，作物高度、叶片叶绿素含量、干物质和氮积累显著下降。此外，我们对表型和转录组、GO 术语和 KEGG 途径进行了全面分析。我们使用共表达基因的 WGCNA，并对参与光合作用、氮代谢和次生代谢的 116 个差异表达的枢纽基因进行了分析，生成了 23 个模块。在这些模块中，选择了六个 NRT 基因家族、四个色素基因、两个与生长素相关的基因和两个与能量相关的基因进行 qRT-PCR 验证。
总的来说，我们的研究表明，在氮缺乏条件下，马铃薯品种的根、茎和叶中与氮转运和积累相关的共表达基因和潜在途径。因此，这项研究为进一步研究提高马铃薯的氮利用效率提供了新的思路。
