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Gresshoff PM, Hayashi S, Biswas B, Mirzaei S, Indrasumunar A, Reid D, Samuel S, Tollenaere A, van Hameren B, Hastwell A, Scott P, Ferguson BJ. The value of biodiversity in legume symbiotic nitrogen fixation and nodulation for biofuel and food production. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 172:128-36. [PMID: 25240795 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2014.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2014] [Revised: 05/13/2014] [Accepted: 05/13/2014] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Much of modern agriculture is based on immense populations of genetically identical or near-identical varieties, called cultivars. However, advancement of knowledge, and thus experimental utility, is found through biodiversity, whether naturally-found or induced by the experimenter. Globally we are confronted by ever-growing food and energy challenges. Here we demonstrate how such biodiversity from the food legume crop soybean (Glycine max L. Merr) and the bioenergy legume tree Pongamia (Millettia) pinnata is a great value. Legume plants are diverse and are represented by over 18,000 species on this planet. Some, such as soybean, pea and medics are used as food and animal feed crops. Others serve as ornamental (e.g., wisteria), timber (e.g., acacia/wattle) or biofuel (e.g., Pongamia pinnata) resources. Most legumes develop root organs (nodules) after microsymbiont induction that serve as their habitat for biological nitrogen fixation. Through this, nitrogen fertiliser demand is reduced by the efficient symbiosis between soil Rhizobium-type bacteria and the appropriate legume partner. Mechanistic research into the genetics, biochemistry and physiology of legumes is thus strategically essential for future global agriculture. Here we demonstrate how molecular plant science analysis of the genetics of an established food crop (soybean) and an emerging biofuel P. pinnata feedstock contributes to their utility by sustainable production aided by symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Gresshoff
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia.
| | - Satomi Hayashi
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Bandana Biswas
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Saeid Mirzaei
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia; Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran
| | - Arief Indrasumunar
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Dugald Reid
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Sharon Samuel
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Alina Tollenaere
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Bethany van Hameren
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - April Hastwell
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Paul Scott
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Brett J Ferguson
- Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR), and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia
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Berry AM, Murphy TM, Okubara PA, Jacobsen KR, Swensen SM, Pawlowski K. Novel expression pattern of cytosolic Gln synthetase in nitrogen-fixing root nodules of the actinorhizal host, Datisca glomerata. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2004; 135:1849-62. [PMID: 15247391 PMCID: PMC519095 DOI: 10.1104/pp.103.031534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2003] [Revised: 04/14/2004] [Accepted: 05/02/2004] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Gln synthetase (GS) is the key enzyme of primary ammonia assimilation in nitrogen-fixing root nodules of legumes and actinorhizal (Frankia-nodulated) plants. In root nodules of Datisca glomerata (Datiscaceae), transcripts hybridizing to a conserved coding region of the abundant nodule isoform, DgGS1-1, are abundant in uninfected nodule cortical tissue, but expression was not detectable in the infected zone or in the nodule meristem. Similarly, the GS holoprotein is immunolocalized exclusively to the uninfected nodule tissue. Phylogenetic analysis of the full-length cDNA of DgGS1-1 indicates affinities with cytosolic GS genes from legumes, the actinorhizal species Alnus glutinosa, and nonnodulating species, Vitis vinifera and Hevea brasilensis. The D. glomerata nodule GS expression pattern is a new variant among reported root nodule symbioses and may reflect an unusual nitrogen transfer pathway from the Frankia nodule microsymbiont to the plant infected tissue, coupled to a distinctive nitrogen cycle in the uninfected cortical tissue. Arg, Gln, and Glu are the major amino acids present in D. glomerata nodules, but Arg was not detected at high levels in leaves or roots. Arg as a major nodule nitrogen storage form is not found in other root nodule types except in the phylogenetically related Coriaria. Catabolism of Arg through the urea cycle could generate free ammonium in the uninfected tissue where GS is expressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison M Berry
- Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
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Colebatch G, Kloska S, Trevaskis B, Freund S, Altmann T, Udvardi MK. Novel aspects of symbiotic nitrogen fixation uncovered by transcript profiling with cDNA arrays. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2002; 15:411-20. [PMID: 12036271 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi.2002.15.5.411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
An array of 2,304 cDNA clones derived from nitrogen-fixing nodules of Lotus japonicus was produced and used to detect differences in relative gene transcript abundance between nodules and uninfected roots. Transcripts of 83 different genes were found to be more abundant in nodules than in roots. More than 50 of these have never before been identified as nodule-induced in any species. Expression of 36 genes was detected in nodules but not in roots. Several known nodulin genes were included among the nodule-induced genes. Also included were genes involved in sucrose breakdown and glycolysis, CO2 recycling, and amino acid synthesis, processes that are known to be accelerated in nodules compared with roots. Genes involved in membrane transport, hormone metabolism, cell wall and protein synthesis, and signal transduction and regulation of transcription were also induced in nodules. Genes that may subvert normal plant defense responses, including two encoding enzymes involved in detoxification of active oxygen species and one that may prohibit phytoalexin synthesis, were also identified. The data represent a rich source of information for hypothesis building and future exploration of symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
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Guan C, Ribeiro A, Akkermans AD, Jing Y, van Kammen A, Bisseling T, Pawlowski K. Nitrogen metabolism in actinorhizal nodules of Alnus glutinosa: expression of glutamine synthetase and acetylornithine transaminase. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1996; 32:1177-84. [PMID: 9002618 DOI: 10.1007/bf00041403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Two nodule cDNA clones representing genes involved in Alnus glutinosa nitrogen metabolism were analysed. ag11 encoded glutamine synthetase (GS), the enzyme responsible for ammonium assimilation, while ag118 encoded acetylornithine transaminase (AOTA), an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of citrulline, the nitrogen transport form in Alnus. GS mRNA was found at highest levels in root nodules, where it was present in the infected cells as well as in the cells of the pericycle of the vascular system. AOTA transcripts were found at high levels in nodules, confined to the infected cells, suggesting that in nodules of A. glutinosa, citrulline biosynthesis takes place mainly in the infected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Guan
- Department of Molecular Biology, Agricultural University, Wageningen, Netherlands
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Carsolio C, Campos F, Sánchez F, Rocha-Sosa M. The expression of a chimeric Phaseolus vulgaris nodulin 30-GUS gene is restricted to the rhizobially infected cells in transgenic Lotus corniculatus nodules. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1994; 26:1995-2001. [PMID: 7858234 DOI: 10.1007/bf00019510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
In Phaseolus vulgaris there is a nodulin family, Npv30, of ca. 30 kDa, as detected in an in vitro translation assay [2]. We isolated a gene (npv30-1) for one of the members of this family. The nucleotide sequence of the promoter of npv30-1 contains nodule-specific motifs common to other late nodulin genes. The promoter was fused to the GUS reporter gene; this chimeric fusion was introduced into Lotus corniculatus via Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformation. GUS activity was only detected in the infected cells of the nodules of transgenic plants. By contrast, the expression of a 35S-GUS construct was restricted to the uninfected cells and the vascular tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Carsolio
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mor
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de Bruijn FJ, Szabados L, Schell J. Chimeric genes and transgenic plants are used to study the regulation of genes involved in symbiotic plant-microbe interactions (nodulin genes). DEVELOPMENTAL GENETICS 1990; 11:182-96. [PMID: 2279354 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.1020110304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Nodulin genes are plant genes specifically activated during the formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules on leguminous plants. These genes are interesting to study since they are not only induced in a specific developmental fashion by signals coming directly or indirectly from the rhizobial symbiont, but are also expressed in a tissue-specific manner. By examining the expression of chimeric nodulin-reporter genes in transgenic legume plants it has been shown that nodule specific expression is mediated by DNA sequences present in the 5 upstream region of several nodulin genes. Here we summarize the available data on these cis-acting elements and the trans-acting factors interacting with them. We also review experiments designed to identify rhizobial "signals" which may play a role in nodule specific gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- F J de Bruijn
- Max-Plank-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Köln, Federal Republic of Germany
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Chen FL, Cullimore JV. Location of two isoenzymes of NADH-dependent glutamate synthase in root nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris L. PLANTA 1989; 179:441-447. [PMID: 24201767 DOI: 10.1007/bf00397583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/1989] [Accepted: 07/04/1989] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The two isoenzymes of NADH-dependent glutamate synthase (NADH-GOGAT; EC 1.4.1.14), previously identified in root nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris L., have both been shown to be located in root-nodule plastids. The nodule specific NADH-GOGAT II accounts for the majority of the activity in root nodules, and is present almost exclusively in the central tissue of the nodule. However about 20% of NADH-GOGAT I activity is present in the nodule cortex, at about the same specific activity as this isoenzyme is found in the central tissue. Glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2) occurs predominantly as the γ polypeptide in the central tissue, whereas in the cortex, the enzyme is represented mainly by the β polypeptide. Over 90% of both GS and NADH-GOGAT activities are located in the central tissue of the nodule and GS activity exceeds NADH-GOGAT activity by about twofold in this region. Using the above information, a model for the subcellular location and stoichiometry of nitrogen metabolism in the central tissue of P. vulgaris root nodules is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- F L Chen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK
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Bennett MJ, Cullimore JV. Glutamine synthetase isoenzymes of Phaseolus vulgaris L.: subunit composition in developing root nodules and plumules. PLANTA 1989; 179:433-440. [PMID: 24201766 DOI: 10.1007/bf00397582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/1989] [Accepted: 07/04/1989] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
In the legume Phaseolus vulgaris L., glutamine synthetase (GS) (EC.6.3.1.2.) occurs as three cytosolic polypeptides, α, β and γ, and a plastidic polypeptide, δ. This paper describes the subunit composition of active octameric GS isoenzymes from root nodules and plumules using ionexchange high-performance liquid chromatography followed by two-dimensional denaturing gel electrophoresis and Western immunodetection. Root nodules contained four separable GS activities, three of which were composed mainly of cytosolic γ, γ/β and β GS polypeptides, whereas the fourth activity, consisted of plastidic δ GS polypeptides. The increase in GS activity during nodulation was due largely to the appearance of γ-containing isoenzymes, and to a lesser extent on the δ isoenzyme, whereas the β-isoenzyme activity remained approximately constant throughout. Plumule GS from imbibed seeds was found to be composed of separate α and β isoenzymes, but 2 d after germination, plumule GS consisted of a mixture of α, α/β and β isoenzymes. The results from both nodules and plumules indicate that different cytosolic GS polypeptides in P. vulgaris are able to assemble into both homo-octameric and heterooctameric isoenzymes. Moreover, the changes in the patterns of isoenzymes observed during nodule development and plumule growth are interpreted to be caused both by temporal changes in the denovo synthesis of the polypeptides and also by their spatial separation in different cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Bennett
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK
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Bennett MJ, Lightfoot DA, Cullimore JV. cDNA sequence and differential expression of the gene encoding the glutamine synthetase γ polypeptide ofPhaseolus vulgaris L. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1989; 12:553-565. [PMID: 24271071 DOI: 10.1007/bf00036969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/1988] [Accepted: 02/02/1989] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
We report the sequence of an essentially full-length glutamine synthetase (GS) cDNA clone (pcGS-γ1) isolated from a root nodule library ofPhaseolus vulgaris L. The polypeptide encoded by this cDNA has been producedin vitro by transcription/translation and shown to co-migrate on two-dimensional gels with the previously identified major cytosolic GS polypeptide (γ) of nodules. Two previously identified GS cDNA clones, pR-2 and pR-1 (see Gebhardtet al., EMBO J 5: 1429-1435, 1986) have similarly been shown to encode the α and β cytosolic GS polypeptides respectively. An RNase protection technique has been used to analyse specifically and quantitatively the abundance of mRNA related to these three GS cDNAs and to the cDNA (pcGS-δ1) encoding the chloroplast-located GS, during nodulation. Differences in the abundances of these mRNAs at different times suggest that they are not coordinately regulated. Moreover, using this technique mRNA specifically related to pcGS-γ1 was found at high levels in nodules but not in roots or leaves. Surprisingly the expression of this gene is not nodule-specific as previously suggested, as its mRNA was also detected, but at lower levels, in stems, petioles and in green cotyledons. By comparison, mRNA related to a leghaemoglobin gene was detected only in nodules. Comparisons of the relative abundances of the pcGS-γ1 mRNA and the γ polypeptide in different organs and at different stages during nodulation, suggest that the appearance of the γ polypeptide is largely under transcriptional control.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Bennett
- Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, 97331, Corvallis, OR, USA
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Lightfoot DA, Green NK, Cullimore JV. The chloroplast-located glutamine synthetase of Phaseolus vulgaris L.: nucleotide sequence, expression in different organs and uptake into isolated chloroplasts. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1988; 11:191-202. [PMID: 24272261 DOI: 10.1007/bf00015671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/1988] [Accepted: 04/26/1988] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Work using a full-length cDNA clone has revealed that the plastid-located glutamine synthetase (GS) of Phaseolus vulgaris is encoded by a single nuclear gene. Nucleotide sequencing has shown that this cDNA is more closely related to a cDNA encoding the plastidic GS of Pisum sativum than to cDNAs encoding three different cytosolic GS subunits of P. vulgaris. The plastid GS subunits are initially synthesized as higher M r (47000) precursors containing an N-terminal presequence of about 50 amino acids which is structurally similar to the presequences of other nuclear-encoded chloroplast proteins. The precursor has been synthesized in vitro and is imported by isolated pea chloroplasts and processed to two polypeptides of the same size as native P. vulgaris chloroplast GS subunits (M r 42000). Experiments with fusion proteins show that the N-terminal 68 amino acids of this precursor allow the cytosolic GS subunit β also to be imported and processed by isolated chloroplasts. Polyadenylated mRNA specifically related to the plastidic GS gene is most highly abundant in chloroplast-containing organs (leaves and stems) but is also detectable in roots and nodules.
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Affiliation(s)
- D A Lightfoot
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK
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Campos F, Padilla J, Vázquez M, Ortega JL, Enríquez C, Sánchez F. Expression of nodule-specific genes in Phaseolus vulgaris L. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1987; 9:521-532. [PMID: 24277190 DOI: 10.1007/bf00020530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/1986] [Accepted: 07/21/1987] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The identification of some nodule-specific host proteins (nodulins) from common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), a tropical ureide-transporting legume, is described. Particularly, the existence and developmental expression of several abundant nodule-specific transcripts of P. vulgaris are shown, including leghemoglobin, nodulespecific uricase and a group that in vitro translates into a cluster of about 30 kDa products. The expression pattern of nodulins in effective (Fix(+)) nodules compared to ineffective (Fix(-)) ones is also presented. The modified expression of main nodulins observed between these nodules indicates that different levels and/or factors associated with their regulation are involved. The intracellular infection by Rhizobium as a decisive step in the induction of some P. vulgaris nodulins is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Campos
- Departamento de Biología Molecular de Plantas, Centro de Investigación sobre Fijación de Nitrógeno, U.N.A.M., Cuernavaca, Apartado Postal 565-A, Morelos, Mexico
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