Post-silking carbon partitioning under nitrogen deficiency revealed sink limitation of grain yield in maize.

ABSTRACT: Maize (Zea mays) plants exhibit altered carbon partitioning under nitrogen (N) deficiency, but the mechanisms by which N availability affects sugar export out of leaves and transport into developing ears remain unclear. Maize was grown under field conditions with different N supply. Plant growth, sugar movement, and starch turnover in source or sink tissues were investigated at silking and 20 or 21 days after silking. Nitrogen deficiency stunted plant growth and grain yield compared with N-sufficient plants, and resulted in greater starch concentrations in leaves due to more as well as larger starch granules in bundle sheath cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed an open symplastic pathway for sucrose movement in N-deficient leaves, while the expression levels of transporters res

SUBMITTER: Ning P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5888971 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature