根际微生物促进水稻氮利用的机制

NRT1.1B Connects Root Microbiota and Nitrogen Use in Rice

根际微生物影响植物的生长及环境适应性。不同种属、不同种群的植物影响其环境微生物群落;反之,根际微生物也影响宿主植物生长发育与生态适应性。植物与根际微生物的互作现象及其机制,是生命科学研究关注的热点,也是农业微生物利用的关键问题。近期,中国科学家在该领域取得了突破性进展。通过对不同籼稻(Oryza sativa subsp. indica)和粳稻(O. sativa subsp. japonica)品种的根际微生物组进行研究,发现籼稻根际比粳稻根际富集更多参与氮代谢的微生物群落,且该现象与硝酸盐转运蛋白基因NRT1.1B在籼粳之间的自然变异相关联。通过对籼稻接种籼稻根际特异富集的微生物群体可以提高前者对有机氮的利用,促进其生长。该研究揭示了籼稻和粳稻根际微生物分化的分子基础,展示了利用根际微生物提高水稻营养高效吸收的应用前景。

Root-associated microbial communities in the soil play fundamental roles in plant nutrition uptake and fitness. However, how plants shape root microbial communities and how the microbes affect the fitness of their hosts remain elusive. Recently, Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough discovery that the nitrogen-use efficiency between indica and japonica rice varieties is associated with different root microbiota in rice. Nitrogen metabolism is greatly enriched in indica-enriched bacteria as compared with japonica-enriched bacteria. Rice NRT1.1B, a nitrogen sensor contributing to nitrogen use divergence between rice subspecies, is associated with the recruitment of these bacterial taxa. Inoculation of the japonica variety with indica-enriched bacteria can improve rice growth in organic nitrogen conditions in the SynCom experimental system. This work highlights the links between root microbiota and nitrogen use in rice and could be exploited to modulate the root microbiota that increase crop productivity and sustainability.