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Different response of an elite Bt restorer line of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) in adaptation to nitrogen deficiency

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Abstract

Transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice have been reported to acquire effective resistance against the target pests; however, the insertion and expression of alien Bt genes may have some unintended effects on the growth characteristics of rice. A screen-house experiment was conducted and repeated twice to investigate the growth characteristics and Bt protein expressions in two Bt rice lines [MH63 (Cry2A*) and MH63 (Cry1Ab/Ac)], which had different Bt protein expression levels in leaves, under zero nitrogen (N0) and recommended nitrogen (NR) fertilizer applications. Compared to the counterpart MH63, MH63 (Cry2A*) under N0 experienced accelerated leaf senescence and a lower internal N use efficiency (IEN), resulting in a 23.2% decrease in grain yield and a lower accumulated biomass. These variations were revealed to be correlated to the higher ratio of the Bt protein content to the soluble protein content (BTC/SPC) with a maximum value of 4.3‰ in MH63 (Cry2A*) leaves in the late growth stage. Under NR, no differences in growth characteristics between MH63 (Cry2A*) and MH63 were found. The growth characteristics of MH63 (Cry1Ab/Ac), with a lower BTC/SPC in the late growth stage compared to MH63 (Cry2A*), were identical to those of MH63 under the two N applications. Results show that the transgenic Bt rice MH63 (Cry2A*), with a relatively higher Bt protein expression in the late growth stage, had an inferior adaptation to nitrogen deficiency compared to its non-Bt counterpart. And this inferior adaptation was found to be correlated with the higher BTC/SPC in MH63 (Cry2A*) leaves in the late growth stage.

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Abbreviations

AEN :

N agronomic efficiency

Bt :

Bacillus thuringiensis

BTC/SPC:

Ratio of the Bt protein content to the soluble protein content

BTC:

Bt protein content

C:

Carbon

CMS:

Cytoplasm male sterile

FL:

Flowering stage

FS:

Filling stage

IEN :

Internal N use efficiency

K:

Potassium

LSD:

Least significant difference

MT:

Mid-tillering stage

N0:

Zero nitrogen

NPR:

Net photosynthetic rate

NR:

Recommended nitrogen

NUE:

N use efficiency

P:

Phosphorus

PEN :

N physiological efficiency

PFPN :

N partial factor productivity

PI:

Panicle initiation stage

PM:

Plant maturity stage

REN :

N recovery efficiency

SD:

Standard deviation

SPC:

Soluble protein content

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Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement for providing the seeds of MH63 (Cry2A*) and MH63 (Cry1Ab/Ac). This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31371570).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Cultivation (The Middle Reaches of Yangtze River), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China

    Yang Jiang, Lin Ling, Lingli Zhang, Mingli Cai, Chengfang Li, Ming Zhan, Jinping Wang & Cougui Cao

  2. Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines

    Abigail Domingo

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  1. Yang Jiang
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  2. Lin Ling
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  3. Lingli Zhang
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Correspondence to Cougui Cao.

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Communicated by Z.-L. Zhang.

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11738_2017_2384_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Fig. S1 Total N uptakes of Bt-MH63 and MH63 under different N applications in 2012 and 2013. Lowercase letters indicate LSD (α=0.05) grouping of means across genotypes within an N application for each year. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different. The vertical bars indicate standard deviations (TIFF 1082 kb)

11738_2017_2384_MOESM2_ESM.jpg

Fig. S2 Pot experiment in the screen-house at Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan City (29°58′N 113°53′E), Hubei Province, China (JPEG 3341 kb)

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Jiang, Y., Ling, L., Zhang, L. et al. Different response of an elite Bt restorer line of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) in adaptation to nitrogen deficiency. Acta Physiol Plant 39, 89 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-017-2384-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-017-2384-y

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