GmNIGT2a/2b-mediated transcriptional cascade buffers high-nitrogen-triggered nodule senescence in soybean

Tianli Ge; Xiaolei Yao; Yuan Li; Xin Wang; Suning Li; Fang Xie; Zhichang Chen; Yuefeng Guan

doi:10.1016/j.jgg.2026.08.006

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GmNIGT2a/2b-mediated transcriptional cascade buffers high-nitrogen-triggered nodule senescence in soybean

doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2026.08.006

a. School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China;
b. Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China;
c. School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China;
d. Crop Institute, Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330200, China;
e. Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211135, China

Funds:

We would like to thank Mingkun Huang at Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Ex Situ Plant Conservation and Utilization, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences for ChIP-qPCR technical support. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation-Key projects of the Regional Innovation Joint Fund (U25A20673) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32472163) awarded to Y.G.

Received Date: 2026-03-23
Accepted Date: 2026-08-10
Rev Recd Date: 2026-08-10

Abstract

Abstract

Soil inorganic nitrogen (N) availability is a critical determinant of symbiotic nitrogen fixation efficiency, making it essential for legumes to respond appropriately and effectively to N fluctuations. Here, we identify a pair of high N response factors GmNIGT2a/2b (NITRATE-INDUCIBLE GARP-TYPE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR). GmNIGT2a/2b are activated by GmNLP4a/b (NIN-like proteins) under high N. The nodules of gmnigt2a/2b double mutants exhibit exacerbated reduction in nitrogenase activity and accelerated senescence in response to high N. Integration of RNA-seq and DAP-seq analyses reveals that GmNIGT2a/2b negatively regulate a suite of core N-induced genes, including NAC, WRKY, and bZIP transcription factors as well as trehalose metabolism genes. GmNIGT2b binds to the promoters of SNAP3 and NAC039 and represses their expression, thereby delaying nodule senescence. Our results suggest that GmNIGT2a/2b-mediated transcriptional regulation prevents excessive nodule senescence in response to high N, highlighting the complexity of transcriptional reprogramming for environmental adaptation in nodules.
- GmNIGT2a/2b,
- High nitrogen,
- Nodule senescence,
- Symbiotic nitrogen fixation,
- Soybean

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References

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