Biochemical aspects of nitrogen use efficiency: An overview

Crop productivity relies heavily on nitrogen (N) fertilization. N is an essential macronutrient limiting the growth and development of plants in agriculture. Both organic and inorganic forms of N are metabolized in plants; nitrate and ammonia are common forms of inorganic N that can be metabolized in all plants. In the last 40 years the amount of synthetic N applied to crops has risen dramatically, resulting in significant increases in yield but with considerable impacts on the environment. Production and application of N fertilizers consume huge amounts of energy, and excess is detrimental to the environment. A requirement for crops that require decreased N fertilizer levels has been recognized in the call for a ‘Second Green Revolution’ and research in the field of nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) has continued to grow. Nitrogen-use efficiency is inherently a complex trait, as each step-including N uptake, translocation, assimilation, and remobilization-is governed by multiple interacting genetic and environmental factors. The limiting factors in plant metabolism for maximizing NUE are different at high and low N supplies, indicating great potential for improving the NUE of present cultivars. Decreasing environmental losses and increasing the productivity of crop-acquired N requires the coordination of carbohydrate and N metabolism to give high yields. This has prompted a search to identify genes that improve the NUE of crop plants, with candidate NUE genes existing in pathways relating to N uptake, assimilation, amino acid biosynthesis, carbon (C)/N storage and metabolism, signaling and regulation of N metabolism and translocation, remobilization and senescence. In this review, we present the over view of N metabolism, relation of C/N metabolism and future prospects of improving NUE in crops using various complementary approaches.