Tomato root transcriptome response to a nitrogen-enriched soil patch.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Nitrogen (N), the primary limiting factor for plant growth and yield in agriculture, has a patchy distribution in soils due to fertilizer application or decomposing organic matter. Studies in solution culture over-simplify the complex soil environment where microbial competition and spatial and temporal heterogeneity challenge roots' ability to acquire adequate amounts of nutrients required for plant growth. In this study, various ammonium treatments (as 15N) were applied to a discrete volume of soil containing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) roots to simulate encounters with a localized enriched patch of soil. Transcriptome analysis was used to identify genes differentially expressed in roots 53 hrs after treatment.

Results

The ammonium treatments resulted in signi

SUBMITTER: Ruzicka DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3095349 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature