Foliar N Application at Anthesis Stimulates Gene Expression of Grain Protein Fractions and Alters Protein Body Distribution in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The major components of wheat storage proteins are gliadins and glutenins, and as they contribute differently to baking quality, a balanced mixture of these components is essential. The application of foliar nitrogen (N) at anthesis is a common practice to improve protein concentration and composition. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a foliar N application at anthesis on storage protein gene expression during grain development and on the distribution of protein concentration and protein body size within the grain. In this experiment, an additional N application at anthesis stimulated the expression of genes of the majority of storage proteins when the N supply was low. Furthermore, it led to higher protein concentrations in the subaleurone layers, while in the center of the lobes, the protein concentrations were decreased. These changes will affect the protein recovery in white flours, as proportionally more protein might be lost during milling processes.

Melatonin Attenuates the Urea-Induced Yields Improvement Through Remodeling Transcriptome and Rhizosphere Microbial Community Structure in Soybean

“…Thus, foliar application of nitrogen fertilizer has become more popular, and the physiological effects of foliar urea application on crop plants have been explored extensively in recent years ( Hassanein et al, 2019 ; Cassim et al, 2020 ; Lyu et al, 2021 ). In wheat, foliar urea application altered storage protein distribution of grain by promoting the expression of the majority of storage protein-encoding genes ( Rossmann et al, 2019 ), but the global transcriptional profile of soybean after foliar urea application has rarely been reported.…”

Elevated atmospheric CO2 delays the key timing for split N applications to improve wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) protein composition

“…One possible reason for this is that e[CO 2 ] promotes dry matter and N accumulation in wheat ( Figure 6 ) and increases N translocation and its contribution to grain N accumulation compared to atmospheric CO 2 concentration conditions ( Högy et al., 2009 ; Dier et al., 2019 ). Therefore, split N applications at a relatively later stage (at anthesis compared to the booting stage) provided a more effective N source for gluten synthesis and accumulation and altered N distribution in grain protein fractions ( Hellemans et al., 2018 ; Rossmann et al., 2019 ; Ar et al., 2020 ).…”

“…Gluten protein content (gliadins and glutenins) was increased by split N applications at booting and anthesis under the ACO 2 and ECO 2 treatments, respectively, compared to that without split N applications (Figure 5). Changes in gliadin content were more sensitive to split N applications than those in glutenin content, which may be closely related to the synthesis of grain protein fractions (Rossmann et al, 2019;Xue et al, 2019). Structural proteins (mainly albumins and globulins) begin to accumulate in the early stages of wheat grain development, are synthesized and accumulated from anthesis to approximately 20 days post-anthesis, and are mainly regulated by sinks (Martre et al, 2003).…”

“…However, other studies have indicated that an increase in the number of grains per spike is the main reason for the yield increase under e[CO 2 ] ( Kimball et al., 2010 ; Han et al., 2015 ). Nitrogen (N), an essential nutrient for plants, is mainly stored in wheat grains in the form of proteins, which can be further sequentially fractionated into albumin, globulin, gliadin, and glutenin proteins based on their solubility in different solvents ( Rossmann et al., 2019 ; Peng et al., 2022 ). Gliadins and glutenins together form gluten proteins, which play a crucial role in influencing the processing quality of wheat flour.…”

Efficient Nitrogen Fertilizer Management to Improve Crop Production

“…However, other studies have indicated that an increase in the number of grains per spike is the main reason for the yield increase under e[CO 2 ] ( Kimball et al, 2010;Han et al, 2015). Nitrogen (N), an essential nutrient for plants, is mainly stored in wheat grains in the form of proteins, which can be further sequentially fractionated into albumin, globulin, gliadin, and glutenin proteins based on their solubility in different solvents (Rossmann et al, 2019;Peng et al, 2022). Gliadins and glutenins together form gluten proteins, which play a crucial role in influencing the processing quality of wheat flour.…”