Enhanced Rice Resistance to Sheath Blight through Mutation without Yield Loss under NH Fertilization.

Nitrogen fertilization can promote rice yield but decrease resistance to sheath blight (ShB). In this study, the () mutant that exhibited less susceptibility to ShB but without compromising yield under NH fertilization was screened. NRT1.1B's regulation of ShB resistance was independent of the total nitrogen concentration in rice under NH conditions. In mutant plants, the NH application modulated auxin signaling, chlorophyll content, and phosphate signaling to promote ShB resistance. Furthermore, the findings indicated that NRT1.1B negatively regulated ShB resistance by positively modulating the expression of H-ATPase gene and phosphate transport gene . The mutation of and promoted ShB resistance by increasing the apoplastic pH in rice. Our study identified the ShB resistance mutant , which maintained normal nitrogen use efficiency without compromising yield.