Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of PkNRT Gene Family in Korean Pine ()

Overview

Journal Plants (Basel)

Date 2025 Jan 25

PMID 39861591

Authors

Xinyu Zhao

Haibo Wu

Boyang Li

Pengyang Wang

Peng Zhang

Hailong Shen

Jianfei Yang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The utilization of nitrogen (N) is crucial for the optimal growth and development of plants. As the dominant form of nitrogen in temperate soil, nitrate (NO) is absorbed from the soil and redistributed to other organs through NO transporters (NRTs). Therefore, exploration of the role of NRTs in response to various NO conditions is crucial for improving N utilization efficiency (NUE). Here, we present a comprehensive genome-wide analysis and characterization of the NRT gene family in Korean pine, an invaluable tree species cultivated extensively in northeastern China. A total of 76 were identified in Korean pine and further divided into three subfamilies (NRT1/NPF, NRT2, and NRT3) based on phylogenetic analysis. All were distributed on 11 chromosomes, with multiple tandem duplications observed. The tissue-specific expression analysis indicated that most showed differential expression in six vegetative tissues. Furthermore, a significantly greater number of lateral roots was observed in seedlings under nitrogen-deficient conditions, accompanied by an increase in both total root biomass and root length. The temporal expression profiles of 16 in seedling roots revealed that four , , , , and , exhibited significantly upregulated expression under the NO deficiency condition, whereas robust induction was observed for , , and upon the NO sufficiency condition. The expression patterns of the suggest their potential diverse roles as key participants in root NO uptake under varying NO conditions during root development. These findings would provide a theoretical foundation for further investigations into the functions of in Korean pine.

References

Kant S . Understanding nitrate uptake, signaling and remobilisation for improving plant nitrogen use efficiency. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2017; 74:89-96. DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.08.034. View

Chen C, Chen H, Zhang Y, Thomas H, Frank M, He Y . TBtools: An Integrative Toolkit Developed for Interactive Analyses of Big Biological Data. Mol Plant. 2020; 13(8):1194-1202. DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2020.06.009. View

Li G, Yang D, Hu Y, Xu J, Lu Z . Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of Nitrate Transporter (NRT) Gene Family in . Genes (Basel). 2024; 15(7). PMC: 11275818. DOI: 10.3390/genes15070930. View

von Wittgenstein N, Le C, Hawkins B, Ehlting J . Evolutionary classification of ammonium, nitrate, and peptide transporters in land plants. BMC Evol Biol. 2014; 14:11. PMC: 3922906. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-14-11. View

Gao Y, Qi S, Wang Y . Nitrate signaling and use efficiency in crops. Plant Commun. 2022; 3(5):100353. PMC: 9483113. DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100353. View

Luo L, Zhang Y, Xu G . How does nitrogen shape plant architecture?. J Exp Bot. 2020; 71(15):4415-4427. PMC: 7475096. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa187. View

Lin S, Kuo H, Canivenc G, Lin C, Lepetit M, Hsu P . Mutation of the Arabidopsis NRT1.5 nitrate transporter causes defective root-to-shoot nitrate transport. Plant Cell. 2008; 20(9):2514-28. PMC: 2570733. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.108.060244. View

Bai H, Euring D, Volmer K, Janz D, Polle A . The nitrate transporter (NRT) gene family in poplar. PLoS One. 2013; 8(8):e72126. PMC: 3747271. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072126. View

Xia X, Fan X, Wei J, Feng H, Qu H, Xie D . Rice nitrate transporter OsNPF2.4 functions in low-affinity acquisition and long-distance transport. J Exp Bot. 2014; 66(1):317-31. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eru425. View

10.

Fan X, Tang Z, Tan Y, Zhang Y, Luo B, Yang M . Overexpression of a pH-sensitive nitrate transporter in rice increases crop yields. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016; 113(26):7118-23. PMC: 4932942. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1525184113. View

11.

Walch-Liu P, Forde B . Nitrate signalling mediated by the NRT1.1 nitrate transporter antagonises L-glutamate-induced changes in root architecture. Plant J. 2008; 54(5):820-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2008.03443.x. View

12.

Kotur Z, MacKenzie N, Ramesh S, Tyerman S, Kaiser B, Glass A . Nitrate transport capacity of the Arabidopsis thaliana NRT2 family members and their interactions with AtNAR2.1. New Phytol. 2012; 194(3):724-731. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04094.x. View

13.

Segonzac C, Boyer J, Ipotesi E, Szponarski W, Tillard P, Touraine B . Nitrate efflux at the root plasma membrane: identification of an Arabidopsis excretion transporter. Plant Cell. 2007; 19(11):3760-77. PMC: 2174868. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.106.048173. View

14.

Wang Y, Tsay Y . Arabidopsis nitrate transporter NRT1.9 is important in phloem nitrate transport. Plant Cell. 2011; 23(5):1945-57. PMC: 3123939. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.111.083618. View

15.

Krouk G, Lacombe B, Bielach A, Perrine-Walker F, Malinska K, Mounier E . Nitrate-regulated auxin transport by NRT1.1 defines a mechanism for nutrient sensing in plants. Dev Cell. 2010; 18(6):927-37. DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2010.05.008. View

16.

Wang Y, Tang H, DeBarry J, Tan X, Li J, Wang X . MCScanX: a toolkit for detection and evolutionary analysis of gene synteny and collinearity. Nucleic Acids Res. 2012; 40(7):e49. PMC: 3326336. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkr1293. View

17.

Kiba T, Feria-Bourrellier A, Lafouge F, Lezhneva L, Boutet-Mercey S, Orsel M . The Arabidopsis nitrate transporter NRT2.4 plays a double role in roots and shoots of nitrogen-starved plants. Plant Cell. 2012; 24(1):245-58. PMC: 3289576. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.111.092221. View

18.

Wei H, Yordanov Y, Georgieva T, Li X, Busov V . Nitrogen deprivation promotes Populus root growth through global transcriptome reprogramming and activation of hierarchical genetic networks. New Phytol. 2013; 200(2):483-497. DOI: 10.1111/nph.12375. View

19.

Zhang H, Jennings A, Barlow P, Forde B . Dual pathways for regulation of root branching by nitrate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999; 96(11):6529-34. PMC: 26916. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.96.11.6529. View

20.

You L, Ros G, Chen Y, Shao Q, Young M, Zhang F . Global mean nitrogen recovery efficiency in croplands can be enhanced by optimal nutrient, crop and soil management practices. Nat Commun. 2023; 14(1):5747. PMC: 10505174. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41504-2. View