Aquaporin Expression and Water Transport Pathways inside Leaves Are Affected by Nitrogen Supply through Transpiration in Rice Plants

The photosynthetic rate increases under high-N supply, resulting in a large CO2 transport conductance in mesophyll cells. It is less known that water movement is affected by nitrogen supply in leaves. This study investigated whether the expression of aquaporin and water transport were affected by low-N (0.7 mM) and high-N (7 mM) concentrations in the hydroponic culture of four rice varieties: (1) Shanyou 63 (SY63), a hybrid variant of the indica species; (2) Yangdao 6 (YD6), a variant of indica species; (3) Zhendao 11 (ZD11), a hybrid variant of japonica species; and (4) Jiuyou 418 (JY418), another hybrid of the japonica species. Both the photosynthetic and transpiration rate were increased by the high-N supply in the four varieties. The expressions of aquaporins, plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs), and tonoplast membrane intrinsic protein (TIP) were higher in high-N than low-N leaves, except in SY63. Leaf hydraulic conductance (K-leaf) was lower in high-N than low-N leaves in SY63, while K-leaf increased under high-N supply in the YD6 variant. Negative correlations were observed between the expression of aquaporin and the transpiration rate in different varieties. Moreover, there was a significant negative correlation between transpiration rate and intercellular air space. In conclusion, the change in expression of aquaporins could affect K-leaf and transpiration. A feedback effect of transpiration would regulate aquaporin expression. The present results imply a coordination of gas exchange with leaf hydraulic conductance.