Over-application of nitrogen fertilizer in fields has had a negative impact on both environment and human health. Domesticated rice varieties with high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) reduce fertilizer for sustainable agriculture. Here, we perform genome-wide association analysis of a diverse rice population displaying extreme nitrogen-related phenotypes over three successive years in the field, and identify an elite haplotype of nitrate transporter OsNPF6.1HapB that enhances nitrate uptake and confers high NUE by increasing yield under low nitrogen supply. OsNPF6.1HapB differs in both the protein and promoter element with natural variations, which are differentially trans-activated by OsNAC42, a NUE-related transcription factor. The rare natural allele OsNPF6.1HapB, derived from variation in wild rice and selected for enhancing both NUE and yield, has been lost in 90.3% of rice varieties due to the increased application of fertilizer. Our discovery highlights this NAC42-NPF6.1 signaling cascade as a strategy for high NUE and yield breeding in rice.
The transient elevation of cytoplasmic calcium is essential for pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI). However, the calcium channels responsible for this process have remained unknown. Here, we show that rice CDS1 (CELL DEATH and SUSCEPTIBLE to BLAST 1) encoding OsCNGC9, a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel protein, positively regulates the resistance to rice blast disease. We show that OsCNGC9 mediates PAMP-induced Ca 2+ influx and that this event is critical for PAMPs-triggered ROS burst and induction of PTI-related defense gene expression. We further show that a PTI-related receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase OsRLCK185 physically interacts with and phosphorylates OsCNGC9 to activate its channel activity. Our results suggest a signaling cascade linking pattern recognition to calcium channel activation, which is required for initiation of PTI and disease resistance in rice.
Selfish genetic elements are pervasive in eukaryote genomes, but their role remains controversial. We show that , a major quantitative genetic locus for hybrid male sterility between wild rice () and Asian cultivated rice (), contains two tightly linked genes [ () and ]. encodes a toxic genetic element that aborts pollen in a sporophytic manner, whereas encodes an antidote that protects pollen in a gametophytic manner. Pollens lacking are selectively eliminated, leading to segregation distortion in the progeny. Analysis of the genetic sequence suggests that arose first, followed by gradual functionalization of Furthermore, this toxin-antidote system may have promoted the differentiation and/or maintained the genome stability of wild and cultivated rice.
Increased use of nitrogen fertilizers has deleterious impact on the environment. Increase in yield potential at low nitrogen supply is regarded as a cereal breeding goal for future agricultural sustainability. Although natural variations of nitrogen transporters have been investigated, key genes associated with assimilation remain largely unexplored for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) enhancement. Here, we identified a NIN-like protein NLP4 associated with NUE through a GWAS in rice. We found that OsNLP4 transactivated OsNiR encoding nitrite reductase that was critical in nitrogen assimilation in rice. We further constructed quadrupling NREs (Nitrateresponsive cis-elements) in the promoter of OsNiR (p4xNRE:OsNiR) and enhanced nitrogen assimilation significantly. We demonstrated that OsNLP4-OsNiR increased tiller number and yield through enhancing nitrogen assimilation and NUE. Our discovery highlights the genetic modulation of OsNLP4-OsNiR signalling cascade as a strategy for high NUE and yield breeding in rice.
WSL5 is crucial for the splicing of the chloroplast genes rpl2 and rps12 under cold stress, and affects the retrograde signaling from plastids to the nucleus.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.