Single-time fertilization (STF) with controlled release blended fertilizer (CRBF) improves grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice production.  However, the impact of soil nitrogen (N) distribution and root growth on rice yield and NUE under STF with CRBF remains unclear.  Here, a two-year field experiment investigated the effects of two fertilizer types (normal urea (U) and CRBF) and two single-time fertilization methods (broadcast and side-deep fertilization) on the soil N distribution, plant N uptake, root characteristics, grain yield, and NUE.  The results showed that CRBF under STF increased the averages of plant dry matter accumulation, N uptake, grain yield, nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE), and nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE) by 8.29, 21.85, 10.57, 79.28, and 74.8% compared to the other treatments, respectively.  Side-deep fertilization with CRBF further increased NUE by 12.78% compared to broadcast.  Moreover, CRBF under STF increased the leaf SPAD value and glutamine synthetase (GS)/glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GOGAT) activity by 5.93 and 25.58%, respectively.  CRBF under STF increased the soil inorganic N concentration and showed a “rising early and stabilizing later” pattern.  In addition, CRBF under STF improved rice root growth and increased the averages of root biomass, total root number, root average diameter, total root length, total root surface area, and total root volume by 28.30, 28.56, 18.64, 13.38, 35.26, and 37.06%, respectively, at the tillering and heading stages.  Partial least squares path modeling indicated that CRBF under STF increased the soil inorganic N concentration which improved root morphology, thereby increasing N uptake and improving the rice yield and NUE.  Taken together, our findings show that CRBF with single-time fertilization is the preferred N fertilizer strategy for achieving high yield and efficiency in rice, and that side-deep fertilization is the optimal fertilization method.

^{Colored rice is a type of high-quality, high-added-value rice that has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The use of large amounts of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer in rice fields results in low fertilizer use efficiency and high environmental pollution.  Organic fertilizer is a promising way to improve soil quality and sustain high yields.  However, most studies focus on the effect of animal-based organic fertilizers.  The effects of different ratios of plant-based organic fertilizer and inorganic fertilizer on the grain yield and quality of colored rice have rarely been reported.  Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conducted in 2020 and 2021 to study the effects of replacing inorganic N fertilizers with plant-based organic fertilizers on the yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and anthocyanin content of two colored rice varieties in a tropical region in China.  The experimental treatments included no nitrogen fertilization (T1), 100% inorganic nitrogen fertilizer (T2), 30% inorganic nitrogen fertilizer substitution with plant-based organic fertilizer (T3), 60% inorganic nitrogen fertilizer substitution with plant-based organic fertilizer (T4), and 100% plant-based organic fertilizer (T5).  The total nitrogen provided to all the treatments except T1 was the same at 120 kg ha–1.  Our results showed that the T3 treatment enhanced the grain yield and anthocyanin content of colored rice by increasing nitrogen use efficiency compared with T2.  On average, grain yields were increased by 9 and 8%, while the anthocyanin content increased by 16 and 10% in the two colored rice varieties under T3 across the two years, respectively, as compared with T2.  Further study of the residual effect of partial substitution of inorganic fertilizers showed that the substitution of inorganic fertilizer with plant-based organic fertilizer improved the soil physio-chemical properties, and thus increased the rice grain yield, in the subsequent seasons.  The highest grain yield of the subsequent rice crop was observed under the T5 treatment.  Our results suggested that the application of plant-based organic fertilizers can sustain the production of colored rice with high anthocyanin content in tropical regions, which is beneficial in reconciling the relationship between rice production and environmental protection.}

Senecavirus A (SVA) is an emerging swine pathogen that causes vesicular lesions, diarrhea, and mortality, resulting in substantial economic losses worldwide. Currently, no commercial vaccines or specific antiviral treatments are available, underscoring the urgent need for innovative strategies to control SVA. Prunin, a natural compound previously identified as an inhibitor of the internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) with antiviral activity, remains unexplored in SVA. Herein, we investigated the anti-SVA activity of prunin and explored its underlying mechanism. In vitro, prunin exhibited low cytotoxicity in BHK-21 cells and potently suppressed SVA replication in a dose-dependent manner. Time-of-addition experiments revealed that prunin primarily targeted the replication phase, with negligible effects on viral adsorption or release. Mechanistic investigations using an IRES-dependent dual-luciferase reporter system demonstrated that prunin significantly impaired IRES-driven translation. Furthermore, RNA pull-down assays indicated that prunin disrupted the interaction between the SVA IRES and key trans-acting factors, including hnRNP A2B1, hnRNP K, and SAM68. In vivo, both prophylactic and therapeutic administration of prunin in BALB/c mice markedly reduced viral loads compared to control groups. Together, these results indicate that prunin inhibits SVA replication by specifically targeting IRES-mediated translation-a critical step in viral protein synthesis. Our study identifies prunin as a novel IRES-targeting antiviral candidate and provides a strategic foundation for developing therapies against SVA. 

Weak seedling vigor of machine-transplanted rice during the recovery stage often limits basal-tillering nitrogen (N) uptake and yield, particularly under the split urea application with the increasing N. In this experiment, the effect of tandem long-mat seedlings (TLMS) transplanted with seedling fertilizer (SF) on yield and N use efficiency (NUE) was studied. Three-season field experiments at two sites consisting of TSF (transplanting with 7.0 kg ha^-1 SF) and T (transplanting without SF) based on five different dosages of basal-tillering N were conducted to comprehensively study the effect of SF in field. The results show that SF released rapidly after transplanting and significantly increased dry matter accumulation, N uptake and their rates during tillering stage. Consequently, TSF showed enhanced growth with early emerging tillers, significantly higher proportion of effective tillers and panicle numbers, and 7.8% higher yield than T. Consistently, basal tillering and total NUE (13.8%) of TSF was significantly higher than that of T. Notably, in some growing seasons, even with a 37.5 kg ha^-1 reduction in basal-tillering N, TSF still achieved a comparable dry weight, N uptake and yield to that of T, supporting the quantitative significance of seedling fertilizer in TLMS. Further quantification through regression analysis of yield and dosage verified that 7.0 kg ha^-1 N supplied via SF was equally effective as 24.1 kg/ha basal-tillering N, in terms of yield response. Overall, TLMS transplanting with SF is an effective strategy to enhance the early growth vigor, improve yield and NUE, and reduce basa-tillering N input in machine transplanted rice. This study successfully integrates the soilless nursery establishment with SF within mechanical rice-transplanting system and quantitatively demonstrating its contribution to post-transplantation performance of rice seedlings.