Multi-Generational High Nitrogen Application Inhibits Seed Germination in Wheat: Insights Into Metabolic Dynamics and Microbial Interactions.

Seven consecutive high-nitrogen regimes delayed wheat seed germination and decreased the germination index by 12.3% in F7 progeny, while vigor index was not significantly affected.

• Why it matters: Excessive nitrogen can impair crop performance, but the multi-generational impacts on wheat germination and the embryo/endosperm and microbiome mechanisms remain unclear.
• What they did: Across seven wheat generations (F1–F7), the authors profiled seed metabolomes and endophytic bacterial communities under normal-N versus high-N, using spatial metabolomics, spatial transcriptomics, and 16S rRNA sequencing. They then tested germination with L-aspartic acid and Bacillus, including growth on L-aspartic acid as the sole C/N source.
• The result: High-N shifted endosperm metabolism, including a 73.9% decrease in endosperm L-aspartic acid, and enriched Bacillus; L-aspartic acid promoted germination/early outgrowth, but Bacillus grew with it and reduced germination under L-aspartic acid-supplemented conditions.

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