OsNPF3.1, a member of the NRT1/PTR family, increases nitrogen use efficiency and biomass production in rice

The overuse of nitrogen (N) fertilizer in fields has increased production costs and raised environmental concerns. Increasing the N use efficiency (NUE) of rice varieties is crucial for sustainable agriculture. Here we report the cloning and characterization of OsNPF3.1 , a gene that controls rice NUE. An amino acid mutation in the OsNPF3.1 coding region caused different NUEs in wild and cultivated rice. OsNPF3.1 , which is expressed mainly in the aerial parts of rice, also affects rice plant height, heading date, and thousand-grain weight. The OsNPF3.1 protein is located in the plasma membrane. When OsNPF3.1 was subjected to artificial selection, two naturally varying loci were associated with NUE, of which OsNPF3.1 Chr6_8741040 differed between indica and japonica rice. OsNPF3.1 can be used as a new target gene for breeding rice varieties with high NUE.