The OsLHT1a allele of the amino acid transporter gene OsLHT1 in the Oryza sativa spp. japonica rice variety, which differs from the OsLHT1b allele in the Oryza sativa spp. indica variety, enhances organic nitrogen use efficiency in high-organic-matter soils through recruitment of a specific rhizosphere microbiota that boosts amino acid production and uptake.
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References
Näsholm, T., Kielland, K. & Ganeteg, U. Uptake of organic nitrogen by plants. New Phytol. 182, 31–48 (2009). A review article that presents an overview of plant amino acid absorption.
Hu, C. et al. Global distribution and drivers of relative contributions among soil nitrogen sources to terrestrial plants. Nat. Commun. 15, 6407 (2024). This paper reports that in soils high in organic matter, organic N contributes substantially to the soil N available to plants.
Guo, N. et al. Oryza sativa Lysine‐Histidine‐type Transporter 1 functions in root uptake and root‐to‐shoot allocation of amino acids in rice. Plant J. 103, 395–411 (2020). This paper reports that natural variation in OsLHT1 is associated with higher amino acid uptake in japonica rice than in indica rice.
Zhang, J. et al. High-throughput cultivation and identification of bacteria from the plant root microbiota. Nat. Protoc. 16, 988–1012 (2021). This paper presents methods for high-throughput cultivation and identification of root microbiota bacteria.
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This is a summary of: Ma, A. et al. Amino-acid-transporter-mediated assembly of rhizosphere microbiota enhances soil organic nitrogen acquisition in rice. Nat. Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02217-0 (2026).
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A rice allele influences organic nitrogen use efficiency by altering rhizosphere microbiota composition. Nat. Plants 12, 275–276 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-026-02230-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-026-02230-x
