{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T17:52:43Z","timestamp":1792086763295,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"42","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792022400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["52370185"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52370185"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["92251304"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["92251304"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Nitrogen (N) use efficiency is critical in ensuring food production while reducing nitrate (NO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N) to ammonium (NH\n                    <jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N) is widely recognized as a key for reducing N loss from paddy fields. Microbial involvement has long been regarded as the indispensable step for NO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N reduction to NH\n                    <jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N in nature; it remains largely unknown whether abiotic processes can drive this. Here, using laser confocal fluorescence microscopy and thermodynamic laws, we find that Fe(II) ions in the rice rhizosphere exist on iron plaque in a specific manner with strong reducing capability. These specifically adsorbed Fe(II) ions (Fe(II)\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">\n                      <jats:sub>SA<\/jats:sub>\n                    <\/jats:italic>\n                    ) could mediate the abiotic reduction of NO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N to NH\n                    <jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N, accounting for 57% of the total NO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N reduction. When cultured in a sterile nutrient solution containing only\n                    <jats:sup>15<\/jats:sup>\n                    NO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N and Fe(II) ions, over 90% of N in the xylem of rice plants exists as\n                    <jats:sup>15<\/jats:sup>\n                    NH\n                    <jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N, directly proving the occurrence of NO\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N reduction to NH\n                    <jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    -N and taken up by rice. Theoretical calculations elucidate the Fe(II)\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">\n                      <jats:sub>SA<\/jats:sub>\n                    <\/jats:italic>\n                    -induced local electron depolarization enhances interfacial charge transfer which drives this reaction with the conversion of *NO to *NOH\/*NHO identified as the rate-limiting step. We then propose a regulatory strategy to establish a stable Fe(II)\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">\n                      <jats:sub>SA<\/jats:sub>\n                    <\/jats:italic>\n                    \/Fe(III)\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">\n                      <jats:sub>SA<\/jats:sub>\n                    <\/jats:italic>\n                    cycle utilizing FeC for controlled-release of Fe(II) ions. Two-year field experiments confirmed this strategy can increase rice yield by 16.1% while cutting half of the N input. Our work enables the design of novel pathways in improving N use efficiency for sustainable rice production.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2616616123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T17:37:33Z","timestamp":1792085853000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Abiotic conversion of nitrate to ammonium enhances nitrogen use efficiency in paddy soils"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0697-7029","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chunlei","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/034t30j35","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"State Key Laboratory of Regional environment and Sustainability, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05qbk4x57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manting","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/034t3zs45","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology","place":["Xi\u2032an, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-7695-0533","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongzhe","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/034t30j35","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"State Key Laboratory of Regional environment and Sustainability, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05qbk4x57","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianfei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01d0bkz51","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science and Technology, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University","place":["Tianjin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingru","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/034t3zs45","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology","place":["Xi\u2032an, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/034t30j35","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"State Key Laboratory of Regional environment and Sustainability, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0528-5300","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chao","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/034t3zs45","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology","place":["Xi\u2032an, 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Liu G. Zhu Data from \u201cabiotic conversion of nitrate to ammonium enhances nitrogen use efficiency in paddy soils\u201d. Figshare. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.6084\/m9.figshare.30884612. Deposited 15 December 2025."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_47_2","unstructured":"C. Liu G. Zhu Data from \u201cabiotic conversion of nitrate to ammonium enhances nitrogen use efficiency in paddy soils\u201d. NCBI Bio Project. https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/bioproject\/?term=PRJNA1390318. Deposited 17 December 2025."}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1073\/pnas.2616616123","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T17:37:47Z","timestamp":1792085867000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2616616123"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"references-count":47,"journal-issue":{"issue":"42","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1073\/pnas.2616616123"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2616616123","relation":{},"ISSN":["0027-8424","1091-6490"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0027-8424","type":"print"},{"value":"1091-6490","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-05-11","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-09-14","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-10-15","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e2616616123"}}