Balanced nitrogen-iron sufficiency boosts grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency by promoting tillering

Abstract

Crop yield plays a critical role in global food security. For optimal plant growth and maximal crop yields, nutrients must be balanced. However, the potential significance of balanced nitrogen-iron (N-Fe) for improving crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has not previously been addressed. Here, we show that balanced N-Fe sufficiency significantly increases tiller number and boosts yield and NUE in rice and wheat. NIN-like protein 4 (OsNLP4) plays a pivotal role in maintaining the N-Fe balance by coordinately regulating the expression of multiple genes involved in N and Fe metabolism and signaling. OsNLP4 also suppresses OsD3 expression and strigolactone (SL) signaling, thereby promoting tillering. Balanced N-Fe sufficiency promotes the nuclear localization of OsNLP4 by reducing H₂O₂ levels, reinforcing the functions of OsNLP4. Interestingly, we found that OsNLP4 upregulates the expression of a set of H₂O₂-scavenging genes to promote its own accumulation in the nucleus. Furthermore, we demonstrated that foliar spraying of balanced N-Fe fertilizer at the tillering stage can effectively increase tiller number, yield, and NUE of both rice and wheat in the field. Collectively, these findings reveal the previously unrecognized effects of N-Fe balance on grain yield and NUE as well as the molecular mechanism by which the OsNLP4-OsD3 module integrates N-Fe nutrient signals to downregulate SL signaling and thereby promote rice tillering. Our study sheds light on how N-Fe nutrient signals modulate rice tillering and provide potential innovative approaches that improve crop yield with reduced N fertilizer input for benefitting sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Keywords: NUE; OsNLP4; grain yield; nitrogen–iron balance; rice; tiller.