Timing the feast: Circadian control of rhizosphere nitrogen supply.

Du and colleagues show that rice circadian regulator Nhd1 coordinates rhythmic chemical signals that synchronize microbial nitrogen cycling with plant nitrogen uptake and assimilation.

• Why it matters: Nitrogen use efficiency is limited by a mismatch between soil nitrogen supply and plant demand, creating a “handshake” problem.
• What they did: They reveal how Nhd1, a rice circadian regulator, drives rhythmic chemical signaling to align microbial nitrogen cycling with plant uptake and assimilation.
• The result: The work provides an example of “chronoculture,” implying circadian control can synchronize rhizosphere nitrogen supply with plant demand in rice.

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