Rice Transporter Gene OsPTR6 has the Potential to Increase Rice Growth

Aiming to increase nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of rice, researchers shifted their focus unto rice PTR/NRT1 transporters, which are critical for rice growth and development. OsPTR6, a PTR/NRT1 transporter, was overexpressed in rice cultivar Nipponbare. Three transgenic lines, named OE1, OE5 and OE6, were produced and subjected to growth experiments in different nitrogen treatments.

The results of this study, conducted by researchers from Nanjing Agricultural University in China, showed that plant height and biomass of the overexpressing lines were increased, and plant nitrogen accumulation and glutamine synthetase (GS) activities were enhanced. Overexpression of OsPTR6 also increased expression of the OsATM1 genes. However, NUE decreased at treatments of high nitrogen.

These data suggest that overexpression of the OsPTR6 gene could increase rice growth through increasing ammonium transporter expression and glutamine synthetase activity, however, it also decreases nitrogen use efficiency during conditions of high ammonium supply.

To learn more on the OsPTR6 and the rest of the study, visit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945214001150.