Modulating plant growth–metabolism coordination for sustainable agriculture

Shan Li, Yonghang Tian, Kun Wu, Yafeng Ye, Jianping Yu, Jianqing Zhang, Qian Liu, Mengyun Hu, Hui Li, Yiping Tong, Nicholas P. Harberd and Xiangdong Fu ()
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Shan Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yonghang Tian: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kun Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yafeng Ye: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianping Yu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianqing Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qian Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Mengyun Hu: Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences
Hui Li: Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences
Yiping Tong: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nicholas P. Harberd: University of Oxford
Xiangdong Fu: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature, 2018, vol. 560, issue 7720, 595-600

Abstract: Abstract Enhancing global food security by increasing the productivity of green revolution varieties of cereals risks increasing the collateral environmental damage produced by inorganic nitrogen fertilizers. Improvements in the efficiency of nitrogen use of crops are therefore essential; however, they require an in-depth understanding of the co-regulatory mechanisms that integrate growth, nitrogen assimilation and carbon fixation. Here we show that the balanced opposing activities and physical interactions of the rice GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR 4 (GRF4) transcription factor and the growth inhibitor DELLA confer homeostatic co-regulation of growth and the metabolism of carbon and nitrogen. GRF4 promotes and integrates nitrogen assimilation, carbon fixation and growth, whereas DELLA inhibits these processes. As a consequence, the accumulation of DELLA that is characteristic of green revolution varieties confers not only yield-enhancing dwarfism, but also reduces the efficiency of nitrogen use. However, the nitrogen-use efficiency of green revolution varieties and grain yield are increased by tipping the GRF4–DELLA balance towards increased GRF4 abundance. Modulation of plant growth and metabolic co-regulation thus enables novel breeding strategies for future sustainable food security and a new green revolution.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0415-5

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