Identify the protein that enriches rice
Researchers at the John Ines Research Institute, in collaboration with researchers at Nanjing Agricultural University, have developed a rice crop that can improve pH management.
Researchers have succeeded in increasing the absorption of nitrogen, iron and phosphorus from the soil by up to 54%.
Rice is a major crop worldwide and is fed by almost 50% of the world’s population.
This product has a great power in adapting to the environment and grows in wet anaerobic conditions as well as in very dry areas and is available to the public.
Nitrogen, which all plants need to grow, is usually present in the soil in the form of nitrate ions or ammonium, which is received by the plant’s roots.
For plants, it is very important to get the necessary amount of nitrate and ammonium because too much ammonium causes the plant cells to become alkaline and too much nitrate also causes it to become acidic. In any case, the imbalance of the pH balance means that plant enzymes are not functioning properly, and this affects plant health and crop yield.
Researchers have focused on how the rice plant can maintain its pH in changing environments.
Rice contains a gene called OsNRT2.3, which produces a protein involved in nitrate transport.
This gene contains two different versions of the protein called OsNRT2.3a and OsNRT2.3b. Creates. After testing these proteins to determine the role of both copies, the researchers were able to enable and disable nitrate transport, depending on the pH of the plant cell.
When protein b is over-expressed in rice plants, they are better able to defend themselves against pH changes in their environment. This enables them to receive much more nitrogen as well as iron and phosphorus.
In this case, the quality of these rice increases up to 45% and their nitrogen use efficiency increases up to 40%.