Additional nitrogen fertilization at heading time of rice down-regulates cellulose synthesis in seed endosperm

• Published in: PloS one 2014-06, Vol.9 (6), p.e98738
• Main Authors: Midorikawa, Keiko, Kuroda, Masaharu, Terauchi, Kaede, Hoshi, Masako, Ikenaga, Sachiko, Ishimaru, Yoshiro, Abe, Keiko, Asakura, Tomiko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Amino acids; Amylases; Analysis; beta-Glucans - metabolism; Biology and life sciences; Biosynthesis; Carbon; Carbon fixation; Cell walls; Cellulose; Cellulose - biosynthesis; Down-Regulation - drug effects; Drinking water; Endosperm; Endosperm - drug effects; Endosperm - metabolism; Fertilization; Fertilizers; Gene expression; Genes; Life sciences; Metabolism; Metabolites; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - pharmacology; Nitrogen balance; Oryza; Oryza - drug effects; Oryza - genetics; Oryza - growth & development; Oryza - metabolism; Phosphorylase; Photosynthesis; Physiological aspects; Plant biochemistry; Plants (botany); Proteins; Research and Analysis Methods; Rhizosphere; Rice; RNA; Seeds; Starch; Starch phosphorylase; Starch synthase; Storage proteins; Sucrose; Sugar; Transcriptome - drug effects; Trehalose; α-Amylase; β-Amylase
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098738

The balance between carbon and nitrogen is a key determinant of seed storage components, and thus, is of great importance to rice and other seed-based food crops. To clarify the influence of the rhizosphere carbon/nitrogen balance during the maturation stage of several seed components, transcriptome analysis was performed on the seeds from rice plants that were provided additional nitrogen fertilization at heading time. As a result, it was assessed that genes associated with molecular processes such as photosynthesis, trehalose metabolism, carbon fixation, amino acid metabolism, and cell wall metabolism were differentially expressed. Moreover, cellulose and sucrose synthases, which are involved in cellulose synthesis, were down-regulated. Therefore, we compared cellulose content of mature seeds that were treated with additional nitrogen fertilization with those from control plants using calcofluor staining. In these experiments, cellulose content in endosperm from plants receiving additional nitrogen fertilization was less than that in control endosperm. Other starch synthesis-related genes such as starch synthase 1, starch phosphorylase 2, and branching enzyme 3 were also down-regulated, whereas some α-amylase and β-amylase genes were up-regulated. On the other hand, mRNA expression of amino acid biosynthesis-related molecules was up-regulated. Moreover, additional nitrogen fertilization caused accumulation of storage proteins and up-regulated Cys-poor prolamin mRNA expression. These data suggest that additional nitrogen fertilization at heading time changes the expression of some storage substance-related genes and reduces cellulose levels in endosperm.