*Correspondence: rajeev.varshney@murdoch.edu.au

The global demand for food is rapidly increasing, necessitating advancements in crop productivity and sustainability. Wheat, a crucial staple food crop, plays a pivotal role in meeting this escalating demand. One of the key traits influencing wheat yield and environmental impact is Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE).

Addressing NUE directly poses a substantial challenge, given its dependence on both grain yield and protein content, which exhibit a negative correlation with each other. Moreover, the excessive use of fertilizers contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring the imperative need for improvement in NUE.

CRISPR/Cas9 technology offers a promising method for validating NUE genes. This improvement is crucial not only for achieving enhanced crop yields but also for maintaining environmental stability. The majority of trait mapping studies aimed at identifying Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) governing NUE-related genes were conducted in non-Australian environments.

This results in a scarcity of resources for understanding the NUE genes, specifically in Australia. However, two major studies have been conducted on Australian wheat populations, generating valuable data on NUE QTLs and identifying specific regions governing NUE genes.

In this project the candidate NUE genes identified through these QTL studies will be validated using CRISPR/Cas9 approach. The ultimate goal of this study is to improve nitrogen utilization in wheat, significantly boosting crop productivity and reducing environmental impact.