Dataset Information

Influence of Nitrogen Availability on Growth of Two Transgenic Birch Species Carrying the Pine GS1a Gene.

ABSTRACT: An alternative way to increase plant productivity through the use of nitrogen fertilizers is to improve the efficiency of nitrogen utilization via genetic engineering. The effects of overexpression of pine glutamine synthetase (GS) gene and nitrogen availability on growth and leaf pigment levels of two Betula species were studied. Untransformed and transgenic plants of downy birch (B. pubescens) and silver birch (B. pendula) were grown under open-air conditions at three nitrogen regimes (0, 1, or 10 mM) for one growing season. The transfer of the GS1a gene led to a significant increase in the height of only two transgenic lines of nine B. pubescens, but three of five B. pendula transgenic lines were higher than the controls. In general, nitrogen supply reduced the positive effect of the GS gene on the growth of transgenic birch plants. No differences in leaf pigment levels between control and transgenic plants were found. Nitrogen fertilization increased leaf chlorophyll content in untransformed plants but its effect on most of the transgenic lines was insignificant. The results suggest that birch plants carrying the GS gene use nitrogen more efficiently, especially when growing in nitrogen deficient soil. Transgenic lines were less responsive to nitrogen supply in comparison to wild-type plants.

SUBMITTER: Lebedev VG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5371763 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Influence of Nitrogen Availability on Growth of Two Transgenic Birch Species Carrying the Pine GS1a Gene.

Lebedev Vadim G VG Kovalenko Nina P NP Shestibratov Konstantin A KA

Plants (Basel, Switzerland) 20170106 1

An alternative way to increase plant productivity through the use of nitrogen fertilizers is to improve the efficiency of nitrogen utilization via genetic engineering. The effects of overexpression of pine glutamine synthetase (GS) gene and nitrogen availability on growth and leaf pigment levels of two Betula species were studied. Untransformed and transgenic plants of downy birch (B. pubescens) and silver birch (B. pendula) were grown under open-air conditions at three nitr ...[more]

PMID: 28067821

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Project description:In high-latitude ecosystems bryophytes are important drivers of ecosystem functions. Alterations in abundance of mosses due to global change may thus strongly influence carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and hence cause feedback on climate. The effects of mosses on soil microbial activity are, however, still poorly understood. Our study aims at elucidating how and by which mechanisms bryophytes influence microbial decomposition processes of soil organic matter and thus soil nutrient availability.We present results from a field experiment in a subarctic birch forest in northern Sweden, where we partly removed the moss cover and replaced it with an artificial soil cover for simulating moss effects on soil temperature and moisture. We combined this with a fertilization experiment with 15N-labelled N for analysing the effects of moss N sequestration on soil processes.Our results demonstrate the capacity of mosses to reduce soil N availability and retard N cycling. The comparison with artificial soil cover plots suggests that the effect of mosses on N cycling is linked to the thermal insulation capacity of mosses causing low average soil temperature in summer and strongly reduced soil temperature fluctuations, the latter also leading to a decreased frequency of freeze-thaw events in autumn and spring. Our results also showed, however, that the negative temperature effect of mosses on soil microbial activity was in part compensated by stimulatory effects of the moss layer, possibly linked to leaching of labile substrates from the moss. Furthermore, our results revealed that bryophytes efficiently sequester added N from wet deposition and thus prevent effects of increased atmospheric N deposition on soil N availability and soil processes. Synthesis. Our study emphasizes the important role of mosses in carbon and nutrient cycling in high-latitude ecosystems and the potential strong impacts of reductions in moss abundance on microbial decomposition processes and nutrient availability in subarctic and boreal forests.

Dataset Information

Influence of Nitrogen Availability on Growth of Two Transgenic Birch Species Carrying the Pine GS1a Gene.

Publications

Influence of Nitrogen Availability on Growth of Two Transgenic Birch Species Carrying the Pine GS1a Gene.

Similar Datasets

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