Nitrogen nutrition contributes to plant fertility by affecting meiosis initiation

Nitrogen (N), one of the most important plant nutrients, plays crucial roles in multiple plant developmental processes. Spikelets are the primary sink tissues during reproductive growth, and N deficiency can cause floral abortion. However, the roles of N nutrition in meiosis, the crucial step in plant sexual reproduction, are poorly understood. Here, we identified an N-dependent meiotic entrance mutant with loss of function of ELECTRON TRANSFER FLAVOPROTEIN SUBUNIT β ( ETFβ ) in rice ( Oryza sativa ). etfβ displayed meiosis initiation defects, excessive accumulation of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and decrease in total N contents in spikelets under N starvation, which were rescued by applying excess exogenous inorganic N. Under N starvation, ETFβ, through its involvement in BCAA catabolism, promotes N reutilization and contributes to meeting N demands of spikelets, highlighting the impact of N nutrition on meiosis initiation. We conclude that N nutrition contributes to plant fertility by affecting meiosis initiation. Nitrogen deficiency can cause floral abortion during reproductive development of rice. Here the authors show that when nitrogen is limited, rice plants require the ETFβ protein, which is involved in branched chain amino acid catabolism, to promote nitrogen reutilization and support the initiation of meiosis.