Germination and seedling growth
- Rice (Oryza sativa L. japonica cv. Nipponbare) seeds were sterilized with 70% (v/v) ethanol solution and 1% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite solution, imbibed in distilled water in the dark at 28ºC for 2 days.
- The germinated seeds were transferred onto a nylon net floated in distilled water and grown in a growth chamber (60% humidity; 14.5 h light period at 28ºC and 9.5 h dark period at 23ºC).
- After 3 days of germination, the seedlings were transferred in Yoshida nutrient solution (5-fold dilution, pH 5.5) and allowed to grow for another 4 days.
- The pH of the nutrient solution was adjusted using 1N NaOH and maintained using MES (buffer). The solution was renewed every 2 days.
Treatment and sampling
- The 7-day old seedlings were exposed to N (NH4NO3)-free, P (NaH2PO4・2H2O)-free, and K (K2SO4)-free deficiency treatments and control condition, respectively.
- Root samples were collected at 6 and 24 h after the treatments.