Abstract
Cereals are key contributors to global food security. Genes involved in the uptake (transport), assimilation and utilization of macro- and micronutrients are responsible for the presence of these nutrients in grain and straw. Although many genomic databases for cereals are available, there is currently no cohesive web resource of manually curated nutrient use efficiency (NtUE)-related genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs). In this study, we present a web-resource containing information on NtUE-related genes/QTLs and the corresponding available microRNAs for some of these genes in four major cereal crops (wheat ( Triticum aestivum), rice ( Oryza sativa), maize ( Zea mays), barley ( Hordeum vulgare)), two alien species related to wheat ( Triticum urartu and Aegilops tauschii), and two model species ( Brachypodium distachyon and Arabidopsis thaliana). Gene annotations integrated in the current web resource were manually curated from the existing databases and the available literature. The primary goal of developing this web resource is to provide descriptions of the NtUE-related genes and their functional annotation. MicroRNAs targeting some of the NtUE related genes and the QTLs for NtUE-related traits are also included. The genomic information embedded in the web resource should help users to search for the desired information.
Highlights
The world population is expected to be >9.6 billion by 2050
The other major nutrients embedded in the web resource for which nutrient use efficiency (NtUE) genes have been detected are K, P, Cu and Zn
These genes have been detected from the genomes of eight model and cereal plant species, including Arabidopsis, rice, wheat and maize (Figure 5)
Summary
The world population is expected to be >9.6 billion by 2050. As a consequence, food production must increase by 70% to meet the growing demand for food; this translates into 3 billion tons of additional cereal grain[1]. Food and nutritional security have been central to several international discussions, involving development of strategies for enhanced and sustainable food production[2]. These strategies include the development of cultivars that would be (i) resilient to climate change, (ii) tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses and (iii) efficient to the use of fertilizer and water resources. These mineral elements include: (i) six macronutrients [N (nitrogen), P (phosphorous), K (potassium), S (sulphur), Ca (calcium) and Mg (magnesium)] that are required in large quantities (1,000–15,000 mg/kg of plant dry weight); and (ii) eight micronutrients [B (boron), Cl (chlorine), Cu (copper), Fe (iron), Mn (manganese), Mb (molybdenum), Zn (zinc) and Ni (nickel)] that are needed in relatively small quantities (0.1–100 mg/kg of plant dry weight)[3]
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