Abstract
The nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between Sinorhizobium meliloti and its leguminous host plant Medicago truncatula occurs in a specialized root organ called the nodule. Bacteria that are released into plant cells are surrounded by a unique plant membrane compartment termed a symbiosome. We found that in the symbiosis-defective dnf1 mutant of M. truncatula, bacteroid and symbiosome development are blocked. We identified the DNF1 gene as encoding a subunit of a signal peptidase complex that is highly expressed in nodules. By analyzing data from whole-genome expression analysis, we propose that correct symbiosome development in M. truncatula requires the orderly secretion of protein constituents through coordinated up-regulation of a nodule-specific pathway exemplified by DNF1
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1126-1129 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 327 |
Issue number | 5969 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Keywords
- signal peptidase activity
- medicago-truncatula
- root-nodules
- endoplasmic-reticulum
- gene-expression
- membrane
- fixation
- mutants
- define
- plant