The effect of nitrogen on wheat during drought and recovery after rehydration.

For transcriptomic analysis under drought, re-watering (RW), and re-watering with nitrate (RWN) conditions, wheat seedlings were germinated and transplanted into soil tanks once the first leaf emerged from the coleoptile, then irrigated with 2 L of wheat growth medium containing 5 mM nitrate, after which no further water was added. When soil moisture fell below 5%, seedlings were subjected to drought for one day before being re-watered with 2 L of medium containing either 0 mM (RW) or 5 mM (RWN) nitrate per tank.

Leaf samples were collected from wheat seedlings during well-watered, drought, and at 3 hours, 1 day, and 5 days post-RW/RWN, and RNA was extracted for subsequent RNA-Seq analysis.