Genetic design of soybean hosts and bradyrhizobial endosymbionts reduces N2O emissions from soybean rhizosphere
Soybeans fix atmospheric N<sub>2</sub> through symbiosis with rhizobia. The relationship between rhizobia and soybeans, particularly those with high nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O)-reducing (N<sub>2</sub>OR) activities, can be leveraged to reduce N<sub>2</sub>O emissions from agricultural soils. However, inoculating soybeans with these rhizobia under field conditions often fails because of the competition from indigenous rhizobia that possess low or no N<sub>2</sub>OR activity. In this work, we utilize natural incompatibility systems between soybean and rhizobia to address this challenge. Specifically, Rj2 and GmNNL1 inhibit certain rhizobial infections in response to NopP, an effector protein. By combining a soybean line with a hybrid accumulation of the Rj2 and GmNNL1 genes and bradyrhizobia lacking the nopP gene, we develop a soybean-bradyrhizobial symbiosis system in which strains with high N<sub>2</sub>OR activity predominantly infect. Our optimize symbiotic system substantially reduces N<sub>2</sub>O emissions in field and laboratory tests, presenting a promising approach for sustainable agricultural practices.
Authors
- Koji Takahashi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3826-3941)
- Masayuki Sugawara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3058-4348)
- Khin Thuzar Win (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4834-078X)
- Hanna Nishida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3701-4011)
- Kaori Kakizaki
- Luong Van Duc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0803-8033)
- Yoshikazu Shimoda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1324-9174)
- Matthew Shenton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2191-6299)
- Hiroko Akiyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8821-5185)
- Haruko Imaizumi‐Anraku (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1797-1378)
- Atsuo Suzuki
- Sachiko Masuda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3733-0030)
- Arisa Shibata
- Kiwamu Minamisawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7302-4079)
- Yukiko Fujisawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4054-0947)
- Satoshi Ohkubo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2485-2561)
- Ken Shirasu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0349-3870)
- Feng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7423-8730)
- Manabu Itakura
- Misa Tsubokura
Institutions
- National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (JP)
- Tohoku University (JP)
- Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (JP)
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (JP)
- Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-09-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63223-6
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.50
Funders
- New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization
- Henan University