Chinese scientists discover new mechanism to boost cold resilience, nutrient use in maize

BEIJING -- Chinese scientists have unveiled a new molecular mechanism designed to simultaneously enhance cold resilience and phosphate use in maize, offering a potential solution to a classic agricultural trade-off that threatens crop yields in chilly environments.

As a crop of tropical origin, maize is highly sensitive to low temperatures. Cold environments not only stunt its growth but also limit its phosphate uptake from the soil, leaving the plant facing dual challenges of cold stress and nutrient deficiency.

A research team from the State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience at China Agricultural University recently uncovered a crucial molecular mechanism coordinating stress adaptation and nutrient utilization of maize. Their findings were published online on Thursday in the journal Nature.

The researchers identified NLA, which is a key E3 ubiquitin ligase that acts as a core molecular hub in the plant's cold response and phosphate uptake regulation.

Naturally, this mechanism operates like a "seesaw" — while the NLA protein enhances the plant's cold tolerance, it also simultaneously inhibits the root system's ability to absorb phosphate, according to Yang Shuhua, co-corresponding author of the study and a professor at China Agricultural University.

To break this trade-off between cold resilience and phosphate use efficiency in low-temperature environments, the team rewired and constructed a new variant of the NLA protein, using AI-assisted protein design and gene-editing technology. Their approach achieved targeted optimization of E3 ligase's function, resulting in a novel maize germplasm that boasts both robust cold resilience and high phosphate use efficiency.

A commentary article in Nature said this approach is expected to be extended to regulate the efficient use of other key soil nutrients, such as nitrogen, holding significant importance for breeding new crop varieties capable of withstanding complex, fluctuating environmental stresses amid global climate change.