Insights into symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Medicago truncatula.

In silico analysis of the Medicago truncatula gene index release 8.0 at The Institute for Genomic Research identified approximately 530 tentative consensus sequences (TC) clustered from 2,700 expressed sequence tags (EST) derived solely from Sinorhizobium meliloti-inoculated root and nodule tissues. A great majority (76%) of these TC were derived exclusively from nitrogen-fixing and senescent nodules. A cDNA filter array was constructed using approximately 58% of the in silico-identified TC as well as cDNAs representing selected carbon and nitrogen metabolic pathways. The purpose of the array was to analyze transcript abundance in M. truncatula roots and nodules following inoculation by a wild-type S. meliloti strain, a mutant strain that forms ineffective nodules, an uninoculated root control, and roots following nitrate or ammonium treatments. In all, 81 cDNAs were upregulated in both effective and ineffective nodules, and 78% of these cDNAs represent in silico-identified TC. One group of in silico-identified TC encodes genes with similarity to putative plant disease resistance (R) genes of the nucleotide binding site-leucine-rich repeat type. Expression of R genes was enhanced in effective nodules, and transcripts also were detected in ineffective nodules at 14 days postinoculation (dpi). Homologous R gene sequences also have been identified in the Medicago genome. However, their functional importance in nodules remains to be established. Genes for enzymes involved in organic acid synthesis along with genes involved in nitrogen metabolism were shown to be coexpressed in nitrate-fed roots and effective nodules of M. truncatula.

Tesfaye M ，Samac DA ，Vance CP 《MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS》

Identification of new potential regulators of the Medicago truncatula-Sinorhizobium meliloti symbiosis using a large-scale suppression subtractive hybridization approach.

We set up a large-scale suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) approach to identify Medicago truncatula genes differentially expressed at different stages of the symbiotic interaction with Sinorhizobium meliloti, with a particular interest for regulatory genes. We constructed 7 SSH libraries covering successive stages from Nod factor signal transduction to S. meliloti infection, nodule organogenesis, and functioning. Over 26,000 clones were differentially screened by two rounds of macroarray hybridizations. In all, 3,340 clones, corresponding to genes whose expression was potentially affected, were selected, sequenced, and ordered into 2,107 tentative gene clusters, including 767 MtS clusters corresponding to new M. truncatula genes. In total, 52 genes encoding potential regulatory proteins, including transcription factors (TFs) and other elements of signal transduction cascades, were identified. The expression pattern of some of them was analyzed by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in wild-type and in Nod- M. truncatula mutants blocked before or after S. meliloti infection. Three genes, coding for TFs of the bHLH and WRKY families and a C2H2 zinc-finger protein, respectively, were found to be upregulated, following S. meliloti inoculation, in the infection-defective mutant lin, whereas the bHLH gene also was expressed in the root-hair-curling mutant hcl. The potential role of these genes in early symbiotic steps is discussed.

Godiard L ，Niebel A ，Micheli F ，Gouzy J ，Ott T ，Gamas P ... -  《MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS》

The Medicago truncatula N5 gene encoding a root-specific lipid transfer protein is required for the symbiotic interaction with Sinorhizobium meliloti.

The Medicago truncatula N5 gene is induced in roots after Sinorhizobium meliloti infection and it codes for a putative lipid transfer protein (LTP), a family of plant small proteins capable of binding and transferring lipids between membranes in vitro. Various biological roles for plant LTP in vivo have been proposed, including defense against pathogens and modulation of plant development. The aim of this study was to shed light on the role of MtN5 in the symbiotic interaction between M. truncatula and S. meliloti. MtN5 cDNA was cloned and the mature MtN5 protein expressed in Escherichia coli. The lipid binding capacity and antimicrobial activity of the recombinant MtN5 protein were tested in vitro. MtN5 showed the capacity to bind lysophospholipids and to inhibit M. truncatula pathogens and symbiont growth in vitro. Furthermore, MtN5 was upregulated in roots after infection with either the fungal pathogen Fusarium semitectum or the symbiont S. meliloti. Upon S. meliloti infection, MtN5 was induced starting from 1 day after inoculation (dpi). It reached the highest concentration at 3 dpi and it was localized in the mature nodules. MtN5-silenced roots were impaired in nodulation, showing a 50% of reduction in the number of nodules compared with control roots. On the other hand, transgenic roots overexpressing MtN5 developed threefold more nodules with respect to control roots. Here, we demonstrate that MtN5 possesses biochemical features typical of LTP and that it is required for the successful symbiotic association between M. truncatula and S. meliloti.

Pii Y ，Astegno A ，Peroni E ，Zaccardelli M ，Pandolfini T ，Crimi M ... -  《MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS》

Dual involvement of a Medicago truncatula NAC transcription factor in root abiotic stress response and symbiotic nodule senescence.

Legume crops related to the model plant Medicago truncatula can adapt their root architecture to environmental conditions, both by branching and by establishing a symbiosis with rhizobial bacteria to form nitrogen-fixing nodules. Soil salinity is a major abiotic stress affecting plant yield and root growth. Previous transcriptomic analyses identified several transcription factors linked to the M. truncatula response to salt stress in roots, including NAC (NAM/ATAF/CUC)-encoding genes. Over-expression of one of these transcription factors, MtNAC969, induced formation of a shorter and less-branched root system, whereas RNAi-mediated MtNAC969 inactivation promoted lateral root formation. The altered root system of over-expressing plants was able to maintain its growth under high salinity, and roots in which MtNAC969 was down-regulated showed improved growth under salt stress. Accordingly, expression of salt stress markers was decreased or induced in MtNAC969 over-expressing or RNAi roots, respectively, suggesting a repressive function for this transcription factor in the salt-stress response. Expression of MtNAC969 in central symbiotic nodule tissues was induced by nitrate treatment, and antagonistically affected by salt in roots and nodules, similarly to senescence markers. MtNAC969 RNAi nodules accumulated amyloplasts in the nitrogen-fixing zone, and were prematurely senescent. Therefore, the MtNAC969 transcription factor, which is differentially affected by environmental cues in root and nodules, participates in several pathways controlling adaptation of the M. truncatula root system to the environment.

de Zélicourt A ，Diet A ，Marion J ，Laffont C ，Ariel F ，Moison M ，Zahaf O ，Crespi M ，Gruber V ，Frugier F ... -  《-》

Transcription of ENOD8 in Medicago truncatula nodules directs ENOD8 esterase to developing and mature symbiosomes.

In Medicago truncatula nodules, the soil bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti reduces atmospheric dinitrogen into nitrogenous compounds that the legume uses for its own growth. In nitrogen-fixing nodules, each infected cell contains symbiosomes, which include the rhizobial cell, the symbiosome membrane surrounding it, and the matrix between the bacterium and the symbiosome membrane, termed the symbiosome space. Here, we describe the localization of ENOD8, a nodule-specific esterase. The onset of ENOD8 expression occurs at 4 to 5 days postinoculation, before the genes that support the nitrogen fixation capabilities of the nodule. Expression of an ENOD8 promoter-gusA fusion in nodulated hairy roots of composite transformed M. truncatula plants indicated that ENOD8 is expressed from the proximal end of interzone II to III to the proximal end of the nodules. Confocal immunomicroscopy using an ENOD8-specific antibody showed that the ENOD8 protein was detected in the same zones. ENOD8 protein was localized in the symbiosome membrane or symbiosome space around the bacteroids in the infected nodule cells. Immunoblot analysis of fractionated symbiosomes strongly suggested that ENOD8 protein was found in the symbiosome membrane and symbiosome space, but not in the bacteroid. Determining the localization of ENOD8 protein in the symbiosome is a first step in understanding its role in symbiosome membrane and space during nodule formation and function.

Coque L ，Neogi P ，Pislariu C ，Wilson KA ，Catalano C ，Avadhani M ，Sherrier DJ ，Dickstein R ... -  《MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS》