Expression of the Nitrate Transporter Gene OsNRT1.1A/OsNPF6.3 Confers High Yield and Early Maturation in Rice

作者：Wei Wang, Bin Hu, Dingyang Yuan, Yongqiang Liu, Ronghui Che, Yingchun Hu, Shujun Ou, Yongxin Liu, Zhihua Zhang, Hongru Wang, Hua Li, Zhimin Jiang, Zhengli Zhang, Xiaokai Gao, Yahong Qiu, Xiangbing Meng, Yongxin Liu, Yang Bai, Yan Liang, Yiqin Wang, Lianhe Zhang, Legong Li, Sodmergen Sodmergen, Hai‐Chun Jing, Jiayang Li, Chengcai Chu · 发表于：The Plant Cell · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1105/tpc.17.00809 · 被引用次数：361 · 研究领域：Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism、Advanced Data Storage Technologies、Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement

Nitrogen (N) is a major driving force for crop yield improvement, but application of high levels of N delays flowering, prolonging maturation and thus increasing the risk of yield losses. Therefore, traits that enable utilization of high levels of N without delaying maturation will be highly desirable for crop breeding. Here, we show that OsNRT1.1A (OsNPF6.3), a member of the rice (Oryza sativa) nitrate transporter 1/peptide transporter family, is involved in regulating N utilization and flowering, providing a target to produce high yield and early maturation simultaneously. OsNRT.1A has functionally diverged from previously reported NRT1.1 genes in plants and functions in upregulating the expression of N utilization-related genes not only for nitrate but also for ammonium, as well as flowering-related genes. Relative to the wild type, osnrt1.1a mutants exhibited reduced N utilization and late flowering. By contrast, overexpression of OsNRT1.1A in rice greatly improved N utilization and grain yield, and maturation time was also significantly shortened. These effects were further confirmed in different rice backgrounds and also in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our study paves a path for the use of a single gene to dramatically increase yield and shorten maturation time for crops, outcomes that promise to substantially increase world food security.