中国农业大学杨淑华团队开发出重新连接E3连接酶可以增强玉米的抗寒性和磷酸盐的使用。这一研究成果发表在2026年2月25日出版的国际学术期刊《自然》上。

课题组发现含有SPX结构域的E3泛素连接酶氮限制适应（NLA）是玉米（Zea mays L.）中连接冷信号和Pi稳态的中心调节因子。在寒冷条件下，NLA促进转录抑制因子JAZ11的降解，激活茉莉酸信号，增强耐寒性；然而，NLA也同时抑制Pi摄取，通过肌醇多磷酸（InsP）依赖的Pi转运蛋白PT4泛素化。一项泛素组全基因组关联研究发现了一种天然PT4(K267A)（赖氨酸-丙氨酸替代）变体，该变体可以减弱NLA介导的降解，并在寒冷条件下增加Pi的摄取。

为了克服这种营养胁迫权衡，研究人员将人工智能引导的结构建模和配体对接与基因组编辑相结合，生成nla^Δ12等位基因，该等位基因编码NLA变体，该变体与InsP的结合受损，但保留了JAZ11的靶向性。Δ12修饰选择性地将NLA的活性重定向到茉莉酸信号传导，从而改善了抗寒性，提高了PUE，并在多地点田间试验中提高了产量。这些发现揭示了一个可调节的SPX调控模块，该模块集成了环境和营养信号，并为设计气候适应性强、营养高效的作物提供了分子框架。

据悉，冷胁迫限制植物生长和无机磷酸盐（Pi）的吸收，降低产量，增加肥料需求。提高抗寒性和磷主题效率（PUE）对作物可持续生产至关重要。

附：英文原文

Title: Rewiring an E3 ligase enhances cold resilience and phosphate use in maize

Author: Liao, Huan, Zhao, Xiaoyun, Ren, Keyu, Guo, Li, Li, Zhuoyang, Liu, Zhicheng, Zhang, Xiaoyan, Su, Tianhang, Fu, Diyi, Zhang, Zhaoyang, Zhuang, Junhong, Yang, Xiaohong, Tian, Feng, Gong, Zhizhong, Song, Wen, Li, Zhen, Shi, Yiting, Yang, Shuhua

Issue&Volume: 2026-02-25

Abstract: Cold stress restricts plant growth and inorganic phosphate (Pi) uptake, reducing yield and increasing fertilizer demand1,2,3. Enhancing both cold tolerance and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) is crucial for sustainable crop productivity. Here we identify the SPX-domain-containing E3 ubiquitin ligase NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION (NLA) as a central regulator that links cold signalling to Pi homeostasis in maize (Zea mays L.). Under cold conditions, NLA promotes the degradation of the transcriptional repressor JAZ11, activating jasmonate signalling to enhance cold tolerance; however, NLA also simultaneously represses Pi uptake, through inositol polyphosphate (InsP)-dependent ubiquitination of the Pi transporter PT4. A ubiquitinome-informed genome-wide association study identified a natural PT4(K267A) (lysine-to-alanine substitution) variant that attenuates NLA-mediated degradation and increases Pi uptake in cold conditions. To overcome this nutrient–stress trade-off, we combined artificial-intelligence-guided structural modelling and ligand docking with genome editing to generate the nlaΔ12 allele, which encodes an NLA variant in which binding to InsP is impaired but JAZ11 targeting is retained. The Δ12 modification selectively redirects the activity of NLA towards jasmonate signalling, resulting in improved cold resilience, higher PUE and increased yield in multi-site field trials. These findings reveal a tunable SPX regulatory module that integrates environmental and nutrient signals, and provide a molecular framework for engineering climate-resilient, nutrient-efficient crops.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10142-1

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10142-1