Impact and mechanism of sulphur-deficiency on modern wheat farming nitrogen-related sustainability and gliadin content

Abstract

Two challenges that the global wheat industry is facing are a lowering nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) and an increase in the reporting of wheat-protein related health issues. Sulphur deficiencies in soil has also been reported as a global issue. The current study used large-scale field and glasshouse experiments to investigate the sulphur fertilization impacts on sulphur deficient soil. Here we show that sulphur addition increased NUE by more than 20% through regulating glutamine synthetase. Alleviating the soil sulphur deficiency highly significantly reduced the amount of gliadin proteins indicating that soil sulphur levels may be related to the biosynthesis of proteins involved in wheat-induced human pathologies. The sulphur-dependent wheat gluten biosynthesis network was studied using transcriptome analysis and amino acid metabolomic pathway studies. The study concluded that sulphur deficiency in modern farming systems is not only having a profound negative impact on productivity but is also impacting on population health.

Using Waste Sulfur from Biogas Production in Combination with Nitrogen Fertilization of Maize (Zea mays L.) by Foliar Application

“…In agreement with our results, several studies showed that sulfur fertilization may increase NUE [ 75 , 76 , 77 ]. As sulfur is an essential constituent of enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism [ 78 ], its deficiency may lead to ineffective utilization of the nitrogen content in plant [ 79 , 80 ].…”

Dissection of the Genetic Architecture for Quantities of Gliadins Fractions in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…Increases in the nitrogen supply result in increased grain gliadin contents because of the enhanced synthesis and accumulation of storage proteins ( Godfrey et al, 2010 ). In contrast, increases in the available sulfur content significantly decrease the gliadin content, while also increasing nitrogen-use efficiency by more than 20% ( Yu et al, 2021 ). The findings of the present study may provide wheat researchers and breeders with useful information for modifying gliadin contents; however, more research is required to elucidate the complex genetic mechanism regulating gliadin contents (total and individual fractions).…”

Wheat Quality Formation and Its Regulatory Mechanism

“…Seed storage proteins can account for 40–60% of wheat processing quality ( Békés et al, 2006 ), and those unaccounted quality variations can be attributed to environmental factors. In wheat production, fertilization and watering strategies are also often considered for quality improvement ( Li et al, 2018 , 2019b ; Yu et al, 2018a , 2021 ). As nitrogen (N) is one of the most important and essential elements for wheat, N fertilizer is usually the most efficient input for simultaneously increasing grain protein content and grain yield in wheat production ( Zebarth et al, 2007 ; Malik et al, 2013 ; Zhen et al, 2018 , 2020 ; Zhong et al, 2018 , 2020 ; Ding et al, 2020 ; Xia et al, 2020 ; Hermans et al, 2021 ; Landolfi et al, 2021 ; Lyu et al, 2021 ; Dong et al, 2022 ; Liu et al, 2022 ; Ma et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Also, studies of glutamine synthetase activity in wheat developing grains and flag leaves have demonstrated that high-nitrogen availability facilitates the participation of glutamine in biological processes ( Yu et al, 2018a , 2021 ; Zhong et al, 2018 , 2020 ). A number of studies have revealed that application of sulfur fertilizer can significantly improve wheat quality ( Zhao et al, 1999a , b ; Luo et al, 2000 ; Yu et al, 2021 ).…”