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Stable foliar colonization of nanocoated nitrogen-fixing bacteria enhances crop nitrogen supply

Nature Food volume 7, pages 55–65 (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

Biological nitrogen fixation through foliar application of nitrogen-fixing bacteria presents a promising route to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers but remains limited by challenges in bacterial adhesion and survival in the phyllosphere. We developed a nanocoated inoculant encapsulating Klebsiella variicola W12 using metal–phenolic networks and sodium alginate for enhanced nitrogen fixation under nitrogen-depleted conditions. The nanocoating improved bacterial resistance to UV radiation, oxidative stress, aerobic conditions and desiccation, enhancing adhesion and biofilm formation on leaf surfaces. Colonization increased 3.3-fold compared to non-coated bacteria at 14 days after application, improving epiphytic and endophytic persistence. The nanocoated bacteria contributed 27.89% of total plant nitrogen, over twice that of non-coated bacteria, resulting in a 1.4-fold increase in rice fresh weight after 54 days. Field trials demonstrated potential savings of chemical fertilizer of 74.38 kg N ha−1, highlighting a sustainable and effective strategy to improve crop productivity with reduced reliance on chemical nitrogen fertilizers and environmental impacts.

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Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of preparation and foliar application of nanocoated N-fixing bacteria.
Fig. 2: Characterization of nanocoated N-fixing bacteria.
Fig. 3: Biocompatibility and cytoprotection against environmental stresses of nanocoated bacteria.
Fig. 4: Nanocoating-based strategy facilitates N-fixing bacterial colonization in the rice phyllosphere.
Fig. 5: Effects of nanocoating-based inoculation on plant growth, grain yield and phyllosphere microbiota of rice under different treatment conditions.

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Data availability

The raw sequence data reported in this paper have been uploaded to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database under accession number PRJNA1264750. The relevant data are available within the Article and its Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number 2023YFD1700800) to Y.-G.Z. We gratefully acknowledge Xiaotang Ju (School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University) for providing the field experimental site and technical support; Feibo Wu (College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University) for supplying the Klebsiella variicola W12 strain; and Baodong Chen and Guilan Duan (Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for contributing the Paenibacillus polymyxa and Bacillus velezensis strains. We also thank Hana Agri-tech company for providing experimental reagents and instruments; Xiangyu Ren, Tianyao Li and Zhujiang Liu (National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for help in qPCR quantification and pot experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yiwen Liao, Li-Mei Zhang & Yong-Guan Zhu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yiwen Liao, Li-Mei Zhang, Dawei Xu, Qinghao Cao, Hang Wang, Yong-Guan Zhu & Yuhong Cao

  3. CAS Key Laboratory for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, China

    Yiwen Liao, Dawei Xu, Qinghao Cao, Hang Wang & Yuhong Cao

  4. Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Ping Fang

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Contributions

Y.L., L.-M.Z., Y.-G.Z. and Y.C. conceived the study. Y.L., Q.C., H.W. and P.F performed the experiments. Y.L., L.-M.Z. and D.X. performed the data analysis. Y.C. and Y.-G.Z. provided financial support. Y.L. wrote the paper. Y.C., L.-M.Z. and Y.-G.Z. reviewed and edited the paper.

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Correspondence to Yong-Guan Zhu or Yuhong Cao.

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Nature Food thanks Alisdair Fernie and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Liao, Y., Zhang, LM., Xu, D. et al. Stable foliar colonization of nanocoated nitrogen-fixing bacteria enhances crop nitrogen supply. Nat Food 7, 55–65 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01280-2

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