Differential Uptake and Utilization of Two Forms of Nitrogen in Japonica Rice Cultivars From North-Eastern China

Japonica rice is widely planted in north-eastern China because of its superior food quality and stable grain yields. Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for rice growth, and development and its availability directly impacts on rice yields. The knowledge of N uptake and its utilization characteristics in japonica are thus important areas of research. Three japonica rice cultivars, SN265, SN1401, and SN9816, which are planted across large areas of north-eastern China, were used here to evaluate the uptake and utilization along the life cycle of both ammonium [Formula: see text] and nitrate [Formula: see text] in hydroponically grown plants. The plants were grown in one of three different solutions with varying [Formula: see text]: [Formula: see text] ratios: 1:0, 0:1, and 1:1 (The total N content was 40 mg L(−1) for each treatment). At the tillering stage, when only [Formula: see text] was provided, lower rates of N uptake and enzyme activities of three rice plants resulted in reduced tiller numbers. During the reproductive stage, the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] uptake rates in SN1401 were consistently maintained at high levels, whereas the rates in SN265 and SN9816 were significantly lower, across all three treatments. At the booting stage, when only [Formula: see text] was provided, SN1401 plants had significantly higher expression levels of OsNRT2.1 and OsNRT2.2, higher activity of nitrate reductase in the roots, and higher activity levels of glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase in the leaves, compared with the SN265 and SN9816 plants. The higher enzyme activity was beneficial to the secondary assimilation of N, which ultimately promoted panicle development in SN1401. Consequently, the grain yield per plant of SN1401 was the highest with solutions of both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. These results indicate that selecting a rice cultivar with higher utilization of [Formula: see text] is beneficial for increasing the number of grains per panicle, grain yield, and N use efficiency.