Towards sustainable bioproduction systems: harnessing organic nitrogen for plant growth

农作物施入的氮肥有50%以上会流失到环境中，造成巨大的环境足迹和温室气体排放，这是一个令人担忧的问题。未来的农业系统必须减少氮肥的使用，但这威胁到了作物和生物燃料的生产。人造氮肥的替代品是作物残渣和有机物质，它们在土壤中更稳定，但对植物的利用率较低。基于我们最近的发现，植物可以利用蛋白质作为生长的氮源，我们将探索植物如何最好地获得有机氮。该项目将为高效氮素生物生产提供必要的知识。

It is of great concern that over 50% of nitrogen fertiliser applied to crops is lost to the environment, resulting in a large environmental footprint and greenhouse gas emission. Future farming systems have to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use but this threatens crop and biofuel production. Alternatives to man-made nitrogen fertilisers are crop residues and organic materials which are more stable in soils but less available to plants. How plants can best access organic nitrogen will be explored, based on our recent discovery that plants can use protein as a nitrogen source for growth. The project will produce essential knowledge for nitrogen-efficient bioproduction.