Watkins wheat landraces decode nitrogen-driven biomass trade-offs: GWAS exposes root-shoot dialectics and elite landraces for resilient agriculture
By integrating genomics, phenomics, and haplotype mapping, this study connects molecular mechanisms underlying nutrient stress with ecophysiological adaptation. Key genes, such as <i>RALF33</i> and <i>TaAPY6</i>, emerged as actionable targets for marker-assisted breeding to develop nitrogen-efficient wheat varieties. These findings highlight the potential of evolutionary-informed genetics in the Watkins landraces to enhance stress resilience, providing a roadmap for sustainable crop design in the context of global nutrient scarcity.
Authors
- Shifeng Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1617-1747)
- Abdul Waheed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9136-3362)
- Junliang Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0756-5720)
- Zareen Sarfraz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2019-2663)
- Yanping Wei
- Muhammad Shahid Iqbal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0245-5976)
- Bo Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2272-8022)
Institutions
- Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Plant Science
- Published
- 2025-05-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1603577
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.75
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program
- Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Program