Abstract
The expression patterns of the NRT2 genes have been well described; however, the role of OsNRT2.4 in root growth is not well known. In this study, we thus aimed at investigating the role of high-affinity NO3− transport OsNRT2.4 in root growth modulation. Through the amiRNA-mediated gene silencing technique, we successfully obtained osnrt2.4 knockdown lines to study the role of OsNRT2.4 on root growth under low nitrate conditions. We performed real-time PCR analysis to investigate the relative gene expression level in root and shoot, soluble metabolites, and measurement of root system. Knockdown of OsNRT2.4 decreased rice growth. The comparison with wild-type (WT) plants showed that (i) knockdown of OsNRT2.4 inhibited root formation under low NO3− supply; (ii) we demonstrated that the mutant lines had significantly increased NO3− uptake than WT plants when grown in different nitrate supplies; (iii) osnrt2.4 knockdown lines showed an alteration in nitrogen metabolism, and this affected the root growth; and (iv) the downregulation of OsNRT2.4 enhanced the expression of gene response of low external NO3− concentrations. Herein we provide new insights in OsNRT2.4 functions. Our data demonstrated that OsNRT2.4 plays a role in root growth, nitrogen metabolic pathway and probably have functions in nitrate transport from root to shoot under low nitrate availability in rice.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Sonia Regina de Souza (in memoriam) for their substantial assistance and useful discussions on this research project. We thank the undergraduate students from the scientific initiation program for their help with the experiments, and the funding agencies Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) (Finance Code 001) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), and the Graduate Program in Agronomy - Soil Science (PPGA-CS) at Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). We thank the anonymous reviewers for their rigorous work to improve this paper.
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This research was funded in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) (Finance Code 001) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
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This article is a joint effort by several authors. A.F.F.S. designed the experiments, obtained funding, performed the data analysis, and drafted the manuscript with contributions of authors. L.N.A. and R.P.R. performed part of the experiment, measurements and provided assistance for data analysis. M.S.F. and L.A.S. contributed to research plan and experiment support. S.R.S (in memoriam) supervised all experiments and together with C.A.B conceived the research plan and project design. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Souza, A.F.F., Bucher, C.A., Arruda, L.N. et al. Knockdown of OsNRT2.4 modulates root morphology and alters nitrogen metabolism in response to low nitrate availability in rice. Mol Breeding 42, 5 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-021-01273-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-021-01273-6