Variation in NRT1.1B contributes to nitrate-use divergence between rice subspecies
    作者: Bin Hu,Wei Wang,Shujun Ou,Jiuyou Tang,Hua Li,Ronghui Che,Zhihua Zhang,Xuyang Chai,Hongru Wang,Yiqin Wang,Chengzhen Liang,Linchuan Liu,Zhongze Piao,Qiyun Deng,Kun Deng,Chi Xu,Yan Liang,Lianhe Zhang,Legong Li & Chengcai Chu
    刊物名称: NATURE GENETICS
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    摘要:
    Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) consists of two main subspecies, indica andjaponicaIndica has higher nitrate-absorption activity than japonica, but the molecular mechanisms underlying that activity remain elusive. Here we show that variation in a nitrate-transporter gene, NRT1.1B (OsNPF6.5), may contribute to this divergence in nitrate use. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that NRT1.1B diverges between indica and japonica.NRT1.1B-indica variation was associated with enhanced nitrate uptake and root-to-shoot transport and upregulated expression of nitrate-responsive genes. The selection signature of NRT1.1B-indica suggests that nitrate-use divergence occurred during rice domestication. Notably, field tests with near-isogenic and transgenic lines confirmed that the japonica variety carrying the NRT1.1B-indica allele had significantly improved grain yield and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) compared to the variety without that allele. Our results show that variation in NRT1.1B largely explains nitrate-use divergence betweenindica and japonica and that NRT1.1B-indica can potentially improve the NUE of japonica.