Description
Nitrogen availability in the soil is a major determinant of crop yield. While the application of fertilizer can substantially increase the yield on poor soils, it also causes nitrate pollution of water resources and high costs for farmers. Increasing the nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants is a necessary step to implement low input agricultural systems. We exploited the genetic diversity present in the world-wide Arabidopsis thaliana population to study adaptive growth patterns and changes in gene expression associated with chronic low nitrate stress, with the aim to identify biomarkers associated with good plant performance under low nitrate availability.