Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Crop Improvement and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #287570

Title: New insights into the effects of high temperature, drought and post-anthesis fertilizer on wheat grain development

Author
item Altenbach, Susan

Submitted to: Journal of Cereal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2011
Publication Date: 7/1/2012
Citation: Altenbach, S.B. 2012. New insights into the effects of high temperature, drought and post-anthesis fertilizer on wheat grain development. Journal of Cereal Science. 56:39-50.

Interpretive Summary: High temperatures and drought during grain development affect both the yield and quality of wheat. It is important to understand how individual environmental factors affect the expression of genes and proteins in the developing grain to develop wheat varieties better able to adapt to global climate change. However these studies are difficult because high temperatures and drought can occur at various times during grain development and can vary in intensity and duration. Additionally, effects of these environmental factors on grain development are influenced by the application of fertilizer. This article integrates findings from a number of complex studies that use state-of-the art techniques to identify genes and proteins that are affected by temperature, water and fertilizer during wheat grain development.

Technical Abstract: Temperature, water and fertilizer have complex and interacting effects on wheat grain development, yield and flour quality. Transcript and protein profiling studies have provided insight into molecular processes in the grain and are now being used in conjunction with controlled growth experiments to decipher the effects of specific environmental variables on grain development. These studies are complicated because environmental treatments such as high temperature and drought shorten the duration of grain development and because effects of high temperature and drought on gene expression and protein accumulation are superimposed upon those of post-anthesis fertilizer. The integration of data from recent proteomic and transcriptomic studies is an important step in identifying genes and proteins that respond to environment and affect yield and flour quality. Such information is needed to develop wheat better able to adapt to global climate change.