Proteomic and transcriptomic changes under nitrate deficiency in the sink and source leaf tissue of variegated maize and pelargonium-VARIEGOMICS

Bilateral project the Republic of Serbia with the Republic of France, Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023-2024
Principal Investigator: Dr Marija Vidovic, IMGGE
Participants: Dr Jelena Samardzic, Dr Bojana Banović Djeri, Dejana Milic, Ana Pantelic 

Nitrogen (N) is a major limiting macronutrient to sustain crop yields and quality. Excessive application of N fertilizers beyond crops’ demand inevitably leads to soil degradation, water, and air pollution. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying N starvation tolerance will help to improve crops’ N utilization rates and yields under low N and promote sustainable agriculture. Leaf variegation (e.g. Pelargonium zonale) has proven to be a suitable model system to examine source-sink interactions regarding carbon allocation within the same leaf, providing the same microenvironment conditions.

Our project aims to evaluate if the amino acid excess in sink leaf tissue (white sectors) might compensate for the N deficit in source leaf tissue (green sectors) of variegated P. zonale (dicot) and maize (monocot). The list of candidate genes and proteins involved in this reallocation will provide proof of concept to further improve the fitness and yield of maize and other crops grown in N-deficient cropland.