Phytosulfokine Is Involved in Positive Regulation of Lotus japonicus Nodulation

Phytosulfokine (PSK) is a tyrosine-sulfated peptide that is widely distributed in plants, participating in cell proliferation, differentiation, and innate immunity. The potential role of PSK in nodulation in legumes has not been reported. In this work, five PSK precursor genes were identified in Lotus japonicas, designated as LjPSK1 to LjPSK5. Three of them (LjPSK1, LjPSK4, and LjPSK5) were found to be expressed in nitrogen-fixing root nodules. LjPSK1 and LjPSK4 were not induced at the early stage of nodulation. Interestingly, while the expression of LjPSK4 was also found in spontaneous nodules without rhizobial colonization, LjPSK1 was not induced in these pseudo nodules. Promoter-β-glucuronidase analysis revealed that LjPSK1 was highly expressed in enlarged symbiotic cells of nodules. Exogenous addition of 1 μM synthetic PSK peptide resulted in increased nodule numbers per plant. Consistently, the number of mature nodules but not the events of rhizobial infection and nodule initiation was increased by overexpressing LjPSK1 in transgenic hairy roots, in which the expression of jasmonate-responsive genes was found to be repressed. These results suggest that PSK is a new peptide signal that regulates nodulation in legumes, probably through cross-talking with other phytohormones.

Spontaneous Root-Nodule Formation in the Model Legume Lotus japonicus: A Novel Class of Mutants Nodulates in the Absence of Rhizobia

Root-nodule development in legumes is an inducible developmental process initially triggered by perception of lipochitin-oligosaccharide signals secreted by the bacterial microsymbiont. In nature, rhizobial colonization and invasion of the legume root is therefore a prerequisite for formation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Here, we report isolation and characterization of chemically induced spontaneously nodulating mutants in a model legume amenable to molecular genetics. Six mutant lines of Lotus japonicus were identified in a screen for spontaneous nodule development under axenic conditions, i.e., in the absence of rhizobia. Spontaneous nodules do not contain rhizobia, bacteroids, or infection threads. Phenotypically, they resemble ineffective white nodules formed by some bacterial mutants on wild-type plants or certain plant mutants inoculated with wild-type Mesorhizobium loti. Spontaneous nodules formed on mutant lines show the ontogeny and characteristic histological features described for rhizobia-induced nodules on wild-type plants. Physiological responses to nitrate and ethylene are also maintained, as elevated levels inhibit spontaneous nodulation. Activation of the nodule developmental program in spontaneous nodules was shown for the early nodulin genes Enod2 and Nin, which are both upregulated in spontaneous nodules as well as in rhizobial nodules. Both monogenic recessive and dominant spontaneous nodule formation (snf) mutations were isolated in this mutant screen, and map positions were determined for three loci. We suggest that future molecular characterization of these mutants will identify key plant determinants involved in regulating nodulation and provide new insight into plant organ development.

MsEnod12A Expression Is Linked to Meristematic Activity During Development of Indeterminate and Determinate Nodules and Roots

During development of nodules and roots, the alfalfa early nodulin gene MsEnod12A is expressed adjacent to the meristem. Using transgenic alfalfa carrying a MsEnod12A promoter-gusA fusion, we investigated the regulation of MsEnod12A expression in mature nodules and roots by GUS assays and reverse transcription-PCR. We found that in alfalfa indeterminate nodules induced by various Fix- Rhizobium meliloti mutants and in spontaneous nodules devoid of rhizobia, MsEnod12A was expressed at the distal end when a persistent meristem was present. However, this gene was not expressed when the meristem was lacking in nodules arrested in development. The MsEnod12A-gusA fusion was introduced into Lotus corniculatus plants that form determinate nodules devoid of a persistent meristem. Using these plants we found MsEnod12A-gusA expression only in young nodules and a disappearance in mature nodules. Moreover, when alfalfa roots were treated with auxins a lateral band of MsEnod12A expression was observed surrounding the club-shaped root apex and coinciding with induced lateral meristematic activities. Thus, in all cases MsEnod12A expression was associated with meristematic activities, suggesting that MsEnod12A plays a role in the differentiation processes of nodule and root cells and that it may serve as molecular tool for analyzing meristem establishment during nodule development.