Characteristics of Grain Yield, Dry Matter Production and Nitrogen Uptake and Transport of Rice Varieties with Different Grain Protein Content
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript overall written very well and presented very good, but before final decision author improve the following sugession...
rewrite the objectives of this study.
In abstract: Author clearly mentioned "In this study, three japonica varieties with high GPC (H- 14 GPC) and three japonica varieties with low GPC (L-GPC) were compared for their grain yield, dry 15 matter production and nitrogen uptake and transport, in field experiments under the same nitrogen 16 application level in 2020 and 2021." But author did not mentioned in the material method about 6 japonica varieties of rice, so line 75 and 76 " Six japonica rice culti- 75 vars with different protein content in grains were used in this study" rewrite these lines and mentioned here 3 low GPC and 3 High GPC.....
line 108, you are determining grain yield... please provide a suitable reference, which studies fallowed to calculate grain yield, how you optimized the grain yield scale, so provide suitable reference.
line 111, only use full form , remove GPC
line 112 TO 114, Provide suitable reference..
Lien 133: you provide reference at the end of equcation,,,,,but you did not provide reference of the above all equcation?
Discussion little bit weak, please add more recent study.
Please correct all grammatical errors and typos
Recheck all abbreviations.
Reference should prepare according to journal requirment.. many places errors
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
Point 1: rewrite the objectives of this study.
Response 1: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We have rewritten the objectives of this study (Line 59-64).
Point 2: In abstract: Author clearly mentioned "In this study, three japonica varieties with high GPC (H-GPC) and three japonica varieties with low GPC (L-GPC) were compared for their grain yield, dry matter production and nitrogen uptake and transport, in field experiments under the same nitrogen application level in 2020 and 2021." But author did not mentioned in the material method about 6 japonica varieties of rice, so line 75 and 76 " Six japonica rice cultivars with different protein content in grains were used in this study" rewrite these lines and mentioned here 3 low GPC and 3 High GPC.
Response 2: We really appreciate your suggestions. In the Materials and Methods section, we have readded three low GPC varieties names and three high GPC varieties names (L73-75).
Point 3: line 108, you are determining grain yield... please provide a suitable reference, which studies fallowed to calculate grain yield, how you optimized the grain yield scale, so provide suitable reference.
Response 3: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We have readded an appropriate reference to the article.
Point 4: line 111, only use full form, remove GPC.
Response 4: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We have removed “GPC” in the article.
Point 5: line 112 TO 114, Provide suitable reference.
Response 5: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We have readded an appropriate reference to the article.
Point 6: Lien 133: you provide reference at the end of equcation,,,,,but you did not provide reference of the above all equcation?
Response 6: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. The formulas for NTA, NTE, NIA-P and NUP-GF have been added to the references. Since the calculation formulas of Sink capacity, DMP-GF and NHI are simple and common, we think it is unnecessary to provide references.
Point 7: Discussion little bit weak, please add more recent study.
Response 7: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We have revised the discussion section and added some recent relevant references.
Point 8: Please correct all grammatical errors and typos.
Response 8: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We have checked the full text and corrected any grammatical and typing errors.
Point 9: Recheck all abbreviations.
Response 9: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We have checked all abbreviations and corrected any errors.
Point 10: Reference should prepare according to journal requirment. many places errors
Response 10: Thanks for the reviewer’s kind suggestion. We checked the references and revised them as requested by the journal.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper presented for discussion is devoted to the study of the evolution of the assimilation of dry matter and nitrogen of different rice varieties over two years' experience. I made a few comments and questions about the article content.
1. How well have these rice varieties been studied previously? Is there evidence of differences in grain protein content (high and low GPC)? Or was it the first split between those groups?
2. What is the reason for the fertiliser application rates in the amounts used in the analysis? And why weren't various doses of fertiliser tested?
3. Besides the protein content of cereals, do these rice varieties differ in their amino acid composition?
4. “Under the same nitrogen application level, the grain yield of L-GPC type was significantly higher than that of H-GPC type,” (Lines 297–298)
Then, what’s more important? Getting rice with greater protein content in the grain or collecting more harvest?
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
Point 1: How well have these rice varieties been studied previously? Is there evidence of differences in grain protein content (high and low GPC)? Or was it the first split between those groups?
Response 1: The first author of this study systematically studied the yield, rice quality, and nitrogen uptake and utilization characteristics of 105 japonica rice varieties (lines) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in 2017 and 2018, and published relevant articles (Liu et al, 2020; Liu et al, 2021a; Liu et al, 2021b). According to the results of this stage, we found that there were significant differences in grain protein content among varieties, including the varieties selected in this study. Therefore, in order to further explore the differences in yield, dry matter production and nitrogen uptake and transport of varieties with different grain protein content, and to clarify the key indicators affecting grain protein content of varieties, we carried out this study in 2020 and 2021.
Related articles published earlier by the author
Liu Qiuyuan, Zhou Lei, Tian Jinyu, et al. Relationships among grain yield, rice quality and nitrogen uptake of inbred middle-ripe japonica rice in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River. Acta Agronomica Sinica, 2021a, 47(5): 904-914.
Liu Qiuyuan, Zhou Lei, Tian Jinyu, et al. Comprehensive evaluation of nitrogen efficiency and screening of varieties with high grain yield and high nitrogen efficiency of inbred middle-ripe japonica rice in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze river. Scientia Agricultura Sinica, 2021b,54(7):1397-1409
Liu Qiuyuan, Tao Yu, Cheng Shuang, et al. Relating amylose and protein contents to eating quality in 105 varieties of Japonica rice. Cereal Chemistry. 2020, 97:1303-1312.
Point 2: What is the reason for the fertilizer application rates in the amounts used in the analysis? And why weren't various doses of fertilizer tested?
Response 2: We really appreciate your suggestions. The fertilizer dosage and application method in this study followed the recommended method for japonica rice cultivation in Jianghuai region. The main purpose of this study was to compare the differences of grain yield, dry matter production, nitrogen uptake and transport among japonica rice varieties with different grain protein content, and to analyze the relationships between grain yield, dry matter production, nitrogen uptake and transport characteristics and grain protein content, so as to identify the key indicators affecting grain protein content. Therefore, we kept the fertilizer application rates under the same level to better study the differences in grain protein content among varieties and the causes of the differences. That's the main reason we didn't test different doses of fertilizer tested. However, we all know that nitrogen fertilizer has a significant effect on grain protein, and this is one of our next studies.
Point 3: Besides the protein content of cereals, do these rice varieties differ in their amino acid composition?
Response 3: First of all, we are very sorry that we have not tested the amino acid composition of these varieties in this study, so we are not sure whether there is any difference in the amino acid composition of these varieties. However, many studies have suggested that free amino acids, as substrates for grain protein synthesis, usually have a significant positive correlation with protein content, and have a positive regulatory effect on grain protein synthesis (Kawakatsu and Takaiwa, 2010; Lu et al, 2022). Therefore, we will also take the differences in amino acid composition as the next research content.
Kawakatsu T, Takaiwa F. Differences in transcriptional regulatory mechanisms functioning for free lysine content and seed storage protein accumulation in rice grain. Plant & Cell Physiology, 2010, 51(12): 1964-1974.
Lu Dandan, Yong Mingling, Tao Yu, et al. Characteristics of Grain Protein Accumulation and Its Response to Nitrogen Level in Good Taste Rice Varieties. Chin J Rice Sci, 2022, 36(5): 520-530.
Point 4: “Under the same nitrogen application level, the grain yield of L-GPC type was significantly higher than that of H-GPC type,” (Lines 297–298)
Then, what’s more important? Getting rice with greater protein content in the grain or collecting more harvest?
Response 4: Rice is the most important staple food crop in the world, and it is an important source of energy and protein to half of the world’s population. With the continuous growth of world population, increasing rice yield is the main way to ensure world food security. Therefore, we believe that achieving high yield of rice should be our main goal for a long time to come. But we should also look at this problem dialectically.
On the one hand, in economically developed areas, with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, people's demand for high-quality tasting rice keeps growing. Many studies have shown that increasing grain protein content is not conducive to the improvement of rice eating quality (). Therefore, under the same fertilization level, the selection of rice varieties with high yield is beneficial to reduce grain protein content, which may be beneficial to the improvement of rice eating quality. Of course, the eating quality of rice is not only affected by protein content, but also closely related to other factors such as grain amylose content.
On the other hand, when rice is used as a major protein source, for example in less developed regions or as a feed, we believe that grain protein content should be increased as much as possible while ensuring yield. Grain protein content is closely related to the amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Therefore, grain yield and protein content can be increased simultaneously by increasing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear authors and editors
This opinion is about the article "Characteristics of Grain Yield, Dry Matter Production and Nitrogen Uptake and Transport of Rice Varieties with Different Grain Protein Content."
Initially, the topic is relevant and extremely important from the point of view of food security.
However, after reading the text, I must indicate that publication is denied.
There are several points that do not meet the standards required by the journal, especially those outside the citation standard.
There is also a methodological error in the project. The excerpt states, "Six japonica rice cultivars with different protein content in grains were used in this study. The heading and maturity dates of the tested varieties are shown in Table 1. In both years, the seeds of the used varieties were sown on May 25 and transplanted into fields on June 15 with a hill spacing of 25 cm×12 cm and four seedlings per hill!
The design presented does not match the results and methodological proposal for data analysis. The presentation considered the years and did not check the results in the Statistical analysis item. Because the description of the experiment indicates that it was a slip plot, as there is a dependency between the factors, in this case, the cycle.
In addition, e.g., citation of this article is not found on the net, "Song, X.Y.; Zhu, Z.Y.; Liu, Y.W.; Zhao, H.J. Application of path analysis in stepwise linear regression SPSS. Arid Zone Research. 2016, 1, 108-113. DOI: 10.13866/j.azr.2016.01.13." and DOI refers to the active article.
Therefore, I suggest to the editor that the article be denied.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 3 Comments
Comments:
This opinion is about the article "Characteristics of Grain Yield, Dry Matter Production and Nitrogen Uptake and Transport of Rice Varieties with Different Grain Protein Content."
Initially, the topic is relevant and extremely important from the point of view of food security.
However, after reading the text, I must indicate that publication is denied.
There are several points that do not meet the standards required by the journal, especially those outside the citation standard.
There is also a methodological error in the project. The excerpt states, "Six japonica rice cultivars with different protein content in grains were used in this study. The heading and maturity dates of the tested varieties are shown in Table 1. In both years, the seeds of the used varieties were sown on May 25 and transplanted into fields on June 15 with a hill spacing of 25 cm×12 cm and four seedlings per hill!
The design presented does not match the results and methodological proposal for data analysis. The presentation considered the years and did not check the results in the Statistical analysis item. Because the description of the experiment indicates that it was a slip plot, as there is a dependency between the factors, in this case, the cycle.
In addition, e.g., citation of this article is not found on the net, "Song, X.Y.; Zhu, Z.Y.; Liu, Y.W.; Zhao, H.J. Application of path analysis in stepwise linear regression SPSS. Arid Zone Research. 2016, 1, 108-113. DOI: 10.13866/j.azr.2016.01.13." and DOI refers to the active article.
Therefore, I suggest to the editor that the article be denied.
Response:
Thank you very much for your comments, and we would like to explain to you about the " a methodological error " in your comments. The main purpose of this study was to compare the characteristics of grain yield, dry matter production and nitrogen uptake and transport of rice varieties with different protein contents, summarize and propose the relationship between grain yield, dry matter production and nitrogen uptake and transport characteristics and grain protein content, and clarify the key factors affecting grain protein content. To achieve this research goal, we selected six rice varieties with different grain protein content obtained from our previous variety screening test as test materials (Liu et al, 2020), and divided them into two types: varieties with low grain protein content and varieties with high grain protein content. In addition, in order to control the influence of external conditions, our experiment was carried out for two consecutive years, and the field cultivation conditions including fertilizer application rate were the same in the two years. Since our main objective was to analyze the differences between the two protein content types, the statistical analysis model in our paper included the source of variation of year and grain protein content type, as well as the interaction of year × grain protein content type. We believe that such experimental design and statistical analysis can achieve our research objectives.
In addition, we appreciate that you pointed out some problems in our references. We have carefully checked the references in this paper and made a comprehensive revision according to the requirements of the journal.
Thanks again for your comments.
Liu Qiuyuan, Tao Yu, Cheng Shuang, et al. Relating amylose and protein contents to eating quality in 105 varieties of Japonica rice. Cereal Chemistry. 2020, 97:1303-1312.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 4 Report
Journal “Agronomy” -1962002 manuscript examines the Characteristics of Grain Yield, Dry Matter Production and Nitrogen Uptake and Transport of Rice Varieties with Different Grain Protein Content. This manuscript describes new and carefully confirmed findings, and experimental procedures which are given in sufficient details. The length of a full paper satisfies the minimum required to describe and interpret the work clearly. The manuscript is very well written, with relevant information that adequately addresses the given topic.
The style and language are largely in keeping with academic standards, providing clearly expressed information in logical order and easy to follow.
Manuscript is prepared according journal writing instruction and need a minor revision. The following comments were raised:
Line 71: Please enter the coordinates of the experimental field?
Line 93: In the “Plant material” section, at the end of the sentence, write “How many plants were taken?”
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 4 Comments
Point 1: Line 71: Please enter the coordinates of the experimental field?
Response 1: We really appreciate your suggestions. We have added the the coordinates of the experimental field in the article (Line 68).
.
Point 2: Line 93: In the “Plant material” section, at the end of the sentence, write “How many plants were taken?”
Response 2: We really appreciate your suggestions. We have made relevant modifications in the article (Line 91-92).
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript is acceptable after minor correction,, the author improved very well.
line 139, 241 remove year (2016)
line 143, 203 Figure. 1.. use full form
Reviewer 2 Report
All comments and suggestions were considered and the manuscript was carefully edited. Thank you.
Reviewer 3 Report
Dears,
After the corrections and justifications presented by the authors, I believe it is sufficient to accept my decision to publish the article.
