RESUMO
Background: An adaptive mechanism in plant roots is initiated in the event of nitrogen and potassium deficiency, and it facilitates the active uptake of these elements in order to ensure plant growth and survival in stress conditions. Signaling and transduction of signals in response to changing nitrogen and potassium concentrations is a complex process, affected by interactions between various gene expression products, and often subjected to modifications. Results: In order to identify genotypic differences between phenotypes of two populations of recombinant inbred rye lines (153/79-1 x Ot1-3 and Ot0-6 x Ot1-3) in response to nutrition stress caused by nitrogen and potassium deficiency at the seedling stage, bulk segregant analysis was utilized. Identification of genotypic differences between and within pooled DNA samples involved 424 RAPD, 120 ISSR primers and 50 combinations of R-ISSR. Identified markers were sequenced and converted to SCAR, attributing to them unique ESTs annotations, and chromosomal ones to selected localizations. Significant relationships with the examined trait were described for nine and eight RAPD markers, four and five ISSR, one and three R-ISSR markers for population 153/79-1 x Ot1-3 and Ot0-6 x Ot1-3, respectively. Sequences identified for the rye genome were characterized by a uniqueness and a similarity to the sequence of aquaporin PIP1, a gene encoding protein related to the function of the transcription factor in plant response to iron deficiency and the putative ethylene-responsive transcription factor, cytosolic acetyl-CoA carboxylase, HvHKT1 transporter, as well as HCBT proteins. Conclusion: Identified molecular markers differentiating rye genotypes of extreme response of root system on nitrogen and potassium deficiency play a significant role in systemic plant response to stress, including stress caused by nitrogen and potassium deficiency. They may constitute a system facilitating selection, and together with the material they are described in, they may be a starting point for research on mechanisms of sensing and transduction of signal across the plant.