Nicotianamine synthase specifically expressed in root nodules of Lotus japonicus

Forging a symbiosis: transition metal delivery in symbiotic nitrogen fixation

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation carried out by the interaction between legumes and rhizobia is the main source of nitrogen in natural ecosystems and in sustainable agriculture. For the symbiosis to be viable, nutrient exchange between the partners is essential. Transition metals are among the nutrients delivered to the nitrogen-fixing bacteria within the legume root nodule cells. These elements are used as cofactors for many of the enzymes controlling nodule development and function, including nitrogenase, the only known enzyme able to convert N2 into NH3 . In this review, we discuss the current knowledge on how iron, zinc, copper, and molybdenum reach the nodules, how they are delivered to nodule cells, and how they are transferred to nitrogen-fixing bacteria within.

Nicotianamine: A Key Player in Metal Homeostasis and Hyperaccumulation in Plants

Nicotianamine (NA) is a low-molecular-weight N-containing metal-binding ligand, whose accumulation in plant organs changes under metal deficiency or excess. Although NA biosynthesis can be induced in vivo by various metals, this non-proteinogenic amino acid is mainly involved in the detoxification and transport of iron, zinc, nickel, copper and manganese. This review summarizes the current knowledge on NA biosynthesis and its regulation, considers the mechanisms of NA secretion by plant roots, as well as the mechanisms of intracellular transport of NA and its complexes with metals, and its role in radial and long-distance metal transport. Its role in metal tolerance is also discussed. The NA contents in excluders, storing metals primarily in roots, and in hyperaccumulators, accumulating metals mainly in shoots, are compared. The available data suggest that NA plays an important role in maintaining metal homeostasis and hyperaccumulation mechanisms. The study of metal-binding compounds is of interdisciplinary significance, not only regarding their effects on metal toxicity in plants, but also in connection with the development of biofortification approaches to increase the metal contents, primarily of iron and zinc, in agricultural plants, since the deficiency of these elements in food crops seriously affects human health.

The Medicago truncatula Yellow Stripe1-Like3 gene is involved in vascular delivery of transition metals to root nodules

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation carried out in legume root nodules requires transition metals. These nutrients are delivered by the host plant to the endosymbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria living within the nodule cells, a process in which vascular transport is essential. As members of the Yellow Stripe-Like (YSL) family of metal transporters are involved in root to shoot transport, they should also be required for root to nodule metal delivery. The genome of the model legume Medicago truncatula encodes eight YSL proteins, four of them with a high degree of similarity to Arabidopsis thaliana YSLs involved in long-distance metal trafficking. Among them, MtYSL3 is a plasma membrane protein expressed by vascular cells in roots and nodules and by cortical nodule cells. Reducing the expression level of this gene had no major effect on plant physiology when assimilable nitrogen was provided in the nutrient solution. However, nodule functioning was severely impaired, with a significant reduction of nitrogen fixation capabilities. Further, iron and zinc accumulation and distribution changed. Iron was retained in the apical region of the nodule, while zinc became strongly accumulated in the nodule veins in the ysl3 mutant. These data suggest a role for MtYSL3 in vascular delivery of iron and zinc to symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Nicotianamine Synthase 2 Is Required for Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago truncatula Nodules

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation carried out by the interaction between legumes and diazotrophic bacteria known as rhizobia requires relatively large levels of transition metals. These elements are cofactors of many key enzymes involved in this process. Metallic micronutrients are obtained from soil by the roots and directed to sink organs by the vasculature, in a process mediated by a number of metal transporters and small organic molecules that facilitate metal delivery in the plant fluids. Among the later, nicotianamine is one of the most important. Synthesized by nicotianamine synthases (NAS), this molecule forms metal complexes participating in intracellular metal homeostasis and long-distance metal trafficking. Here we characterized the NAS2 gene from model legume Medicago truncatula. MtNAS2 is located in the root vasculature and in all nodule tissues in the infection and fixation zones. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation requires of MtNAS2 function, as indicated by the loss of nitrogenase activity in the insertional mutant nas2-1, phenotype reverted by reintroduction of a wild-type copy of MtNAS2. This would result from the altered iron distribution in nas2-1 nodules shown with X-ray fluorescence. Moreover, iron speciation is also affected in these nodules. These data suggest a role of nicotianamine in iron delivery for symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Disentangling the complexity and diversity of crosstalk between sulfur and other mineral nutrients in cultivated plants

A complete understanding of ionome homeostasis requires a thorough investigation of the dynamics of the nutrient networks in plants. This review focuses on the complexity of interactions occurring between S and other nutrients, and these are addressed at the level of the whole plant, the individual tissues, and the cellular compartments. With regards to macronutrients, S deficiency mainly acts by reducing plant growth, which in turn restricts the root uptake of, for example, N, K, and Mg. Conversely, deficiencies in N, K, or Mg reduce uptake of S. TOR (target of rapamycin) protein kinase, whose involvement in the co-regulation of C/N and S metabolism has recently been unravelled, provides a clue to understanding the links between S and plant growth. In legumes, the original crosstalk between N and S can be found at the level of nodules, which show high requirements for S, and hence specifically express a number of sulfate transporters. With regards to micronutrients, except for Fe, their uptake can be increased under S deficiency through various mechanisms. One of these results from the broad specificity of root sulfate transporters that are up-regulated during S deficiency, which can also take up some molybdate and selenate. A second mechanism is linked to the large accumulation of sulfate in the leaf vacuoles, with its reduced osmotic contribution under S deficiency being compensated for by an increase in Cl uptake and accumulation. A third group of broader mechanisms that can explain at least some of the interactions between S and micronutrients concerns metabolic networks where several nutrients are essential, such as the synthesis of the Mo co-factor needed by some essential enzymes, which requires S, Fe, Zn and Cu for its synthesis, and the synthesis and regulation of Fe-S clusters. Finally, we briefly review recent developments in the modelling of S responses in crops (allocation amongst plant parts and distribution of mineral versus organic forms) in order to provide perspectives on prediction-based approaches that take into account the interactions with other minerals such as N.

Modulation of defence and iron homeostasis genes in rice roots by the diazotrophic endophyte Herbaspirillum seropedicae

Rice is staple food of nearly half the world’s population. Rice yields must therefore increase to feed ever larger populations. By colonising rice and other plants, Herbaspirillum spp. stimulate plant growth and productivity. However the molecular factors involved are largely unknown. To further explore this interaction, the transcription profiles of Nipponbare rice roots inoculated with Herbaspirillum seropedicae were determined by RNA-seq. Mapping the 104 million reads against the Oryza sativa cv. Nipponbare genome produced 65 million unique mapped reads that represented 13,840 transcripts each with at least two-times coverage. About 7.4% (1,014) genes were differentially regulated and of these 255 changed expression levels more than two times. Several of the repressed genes encoded proteins related to plant defence (e.g. a putative probenazole inducible protein), plant disease resistance as well as enzymes involved in flavonoid and isoprenoid synthesis. Genes related to the synthesis and efflux of phytosiderophores (PS) and transport of PS-iron complexes were induced by the bacteria. These data suggest that the bacterium represses the rice defence system while concomitantly activating iron uptake. Transcripts of H. seropedicae were also detected amongst which transcripts of genes involved in nitrogen fixation, cell motility and cell wall synthesis were the most expressed.

Investigation of Baseline Iron Levels in Australian Chickpea and Evaluation of a Transgenic Biofortification Approach

Iron deficiency currently affects over two billion people worldwide despite significant advances in technology and society aimed at mitigating this global health problem. Biofortification of food staples with iron (Fe) represents a sustainable approach for alleviating human Fe deficiency in developing countries, however, biofortification efforts have focused extensively on cereal staples while pulses have been largely overlooked. In this study we describe a genetic engineering (GE) approach to biofortify the pulse crop, chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), with Fe using a combination of the chickpea nicotianamine synthase 2 (CaNAS2) and soybean (Glycine max) ferritin (GmFER) genes which function in Fe transport and storage, respectively. This study consists of three main components: (1) the establishment for baseline Fe concentration of existing germplam, (2) the isolation and study of expression pattern of the novel CaNAS2 gene, and (3) the generation of GE chickpea overexpressing the CaNAS2 and GmFER genes. Seed of six commercial chickpea cultivars was collected from four different field locations in Australia and assessed for seed Fe concentration. The results revealed little difference between the cultivars assessed, and that chickpea seed Fe was negatively affected where soil Fe bioavailability is low. The desi cultivar HatTrick was then selected for further study. From it, the CaNAS2 gene was cloned and its expression in different tissues examined. The gene was found to be expressed in multiple vegetative tissues under Fe-sufficient conditions, suggesting that it may play a housekeeping role in systemic translocation of Fe. Two GE chickpea events were then generated and the overexpression of the CaNAS2 and GmFER transgenes confirmed. Analysis of nicotianamine (NA) and Fe levels in the GE seeds revealed that NA was nearly doubled compared to the null control while Fe concentration was not changed. Increased NA content in chickpea seed is likely to translate into increased Fe bioavailability and may thus overcome the effect of the bioavailability inhibitors found in pulses; however, further study is required to confirm this. This is the first known example of GE Fe biofortified chickpea; information gleaned from this study can feed into future pulse biofortification work to help alleviate global Fe deficiency.

Transition Metal Transport in Plants and Associated Endosymbionts: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Rhizobia

Transition metals such as iron, copper, zinc, or molybdenum are essential nutrients for plants. These elements are involved in almost every biological process, including photosynthesis, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, or symbiotic nitrogen fixation. However, plants often grow in soils with limiting metallic oligonutrient bioavailability. Consequently, to ensure the proper metal levels, plants have developed a complex metal uptake and distribution system, that not only involves the plant itself, but also its associated microorganisms. These microorganisms can simply increase metal solubility in soils and making them more accessible to the host plant, as well as induce the plant metal deficiency response, or directly deliver transition elements to cortical cells. Other, instead of providing metals, can act as metal sinks, such as endosymbiotic rhizobia in legume nodules that requires relatively large amounts to carry out nitrogen fixation. In this review, we propose to do an overview of metal transport mechanisms in the plant-microbe system, emphasizing the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and endosymbiotic rhizobia.

Association mapping and genetic dissection of nitrogen use efficiency-related traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The increases in the usage of nitrogen fertilizer result in deleterious impacts on the environment; thus, there is an urgent need to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crops including rice (Oryza sativa L.). Attentions have focused on quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of NUE-related traits using single experimental population, but to date, very few studies have taken advantage of association mapping to examine hundreds of lines for identifying potentially novel QTLs in rice. Here, we conducted association analysis on NUE-related traits using a population containing 184 varieties, which were genotyped with 157 genome-wide simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. We detected eight statistically significant marker loci associating with NUE-related traits, of which two QTLs at RM5639 and RM3628 harbored known NUE-related genes GS1;2 and AspAt3, respectively. At a novel NUE-related locus RM5748, we developed Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and searched for putative NUE-related genes which are close to the associated SNP marker. Based on a transcriptional map of N stress responses constructed by our lab, we evaluated expressions of the NUE-related genes in this region and validated their effect on NUE. Meanwhile, we analyzed NUE-related alleles of the eight loci that could be utilized in marker-assisted selection. Moreover, we estimated breeding values of all the varieties through genomic prediction approach that could be beneficial for rice NUE enhancement.

Iron distribution through the developmental stages of Medicago truncatula nodules

Paramount to symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) is the synthesis of a number of metalloenzymes that use iron as a critical component of their catalytical core. Since this process is carried out by endosymbiotic rhizobia living in legume root nodules, the mechanisms involved in iron delivery to the rhizobia-containing cells are critical for SNF. In order to gain insight into iron transport to the nodule, we have used synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence to determine the spatio-temporal distribution of this metal in nodules of the legume Medicago truncatula with hitherto unattained sensitivity and resolution. The data support a model in which iron is released from the vasculature into the apoplast of the infection/differentiation zone of the nodule (zone II). The infected cell subsequently takes up this apoplastic iron and delivers it to the symbiosome and the secretory system to synthesize ferroproteins. Upon senescence, iron is relocated to the vasculature to be reused by the shoot. These observations highlight the important role of yet to be discovered metal transporters in iron compartmentalization in the nodule and in the recovery of an essential and scarce nutrient for flowering and seed production.

Fixating on metals: new insights into the role of metals in nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is one of the most promising and immediate alternatives to the overuse of polluting nitrogen fertilizers for improving plant nutrition. At the core of this process are a number of metalloproteins that catalyze and provide energy for the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, eliminate free radicals produced by this process, and create the microaerobic conditions required by these reactions. In legumes, metal cofactors are provided to endosymbiotic rhizobia within root nodule cortical cells. However, low metal bioavailability is prevalent in most soils types, resulting in widespread plant metal deficiency and decreased nitrogen fixation capabilities. As a result, renewed efforts have been undertaken to identify the mechanisms governing metal delivery from soil to the rhizobia, and to determine how metals are used in the nodule and how they are recycled once the nodule is no longer functional. This effort is being aided by improved legume molecular biology tools (genome projects, mutant collections, and transformation methods), in addition to state-of-the-art metal visualization systems.

Iron: an essential micronutrient for the legume-rhizobium symbiosis

Legumes, which develop a symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, have an increased demand for iron. Iron is required for the synthesis of iron-containing proteins in the host, including the highly abundant leghemoglobin, and in bacteroids for nitrogenase and cytochromes of the electron transport chain. Deficiencies in iron can affect initiation and development of the nodule. Within root cells, iron is chelated with organic acids such as citrate and nicotianamine and distributed to other parts of the plant. Transport to the nitrogen-fixing bacteroids in infected cells of nodules is more complicated. Formation of the symbiosis results in bacteroids internalized within root cortical cells of the legume where they are surrounded by a plant-derived membrane termed the symbiosome membrane (SM). This membrane forms an interface that regulates nutrient supply to the bacteroid. Consequently, iron must cross this membrane before being supplied to the bacteroid. Iron is transported across the SM as both ferric and ferrous iron. However, uptake of Fe(II) by both the symbiosome and bacteroid is faster than Fe(III) uptake. Members of more than one protein family may be responsible for Fe(II) transport across the SM. The only Fe(II) transporter in nodules characterized to date is GmDMT1 (Glycine max divalent metal transporter 1), which is located on the SM in soybean. Like the root plasma membrane, the SM has ferric iron reductase activity. The protein responsible has not been identified but is predicted to reduce ferric iron accumulated in the symbiosome space prior to uptake by the bacteroid. With the recent publication of a number of legume genomes including Medicago truncatula and G. max, a large number of additional candidate transport proteins have been identified. Members of the NRAMP (natural resistance-associated macrophage protein), YSL (yellow stripe-like), VIT (vacuolar iron transporter), and ZIP (Zrt-, Irt-like protein) transport families show enhanced expression in nodules and are expected to play a role in the transport of iron and other metals across symbiotic membranes.

Immunolocalization of H(+)-ATPase and IRT1 enzymes in N(2)-fixing common bean nodules subjected to iron deficiency

The demand for iron in leguminous plants increases during symbiosis, as the metal is utilised for the synthesis of various Fe-containing proteins in both plant and bacteroids. However, the acquisition of this micronutrient is problematic due to its low bioavailability at physiological pH under aerobic conditions. Induction of root Fe(III)-reductase activity is necessary for Fe uptake and can be coupled to the rhizosphere acidification capacity linked to the H(+)-ATPase activity. Fe uptake is related to the expression of a Fe(2+) transporter (IRT1). In order to verify the possible role of nodules in the acquisition of Fe directly from the soil solution, the localization of H(+)-ATPase and IRT1 was carried out in common bean nodules by immuno-histochemical analysis. The results showed that these proteins were particularly abundant in the central nitrogen-fixing zone of nodules, around the periphery of infected and uninfected cells as well as in the vascular bundle of control nodules. Under Fe deficiency an over-accumulation of H(+)-ATPase and IRT1 proteins was observed especially around the cortex cells of nodules. The results obtained in this study suggest that the increase in these proteins is differentially localized in nodules of Fe-deficient plants when compared to the Fe-sufficient condition and cast new light on the possible involvement of nodules in the direct acquisition of Fe from the nutrient solution.

Recent insights into antioxidant defenses of legume root nodules

Legume root nodules are sites of intense biochemical activity and consequently are at high risk of damage as a result of the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). These molecules can potentially give rise to oxidative and nitrosative damage but, when their concentrations are tightly controlled by antioxidant enzymes and metabolites, they also play positive roles as critical components of signal transduction cascades during nodule development and stress. Thus, recent advances in our understanding of ascorbate and (homo)glutathione biosynthesis in plants have opened up the possibility of enhancing N(2) fixation through an increase of their concentrations in nodules. It is now evident that antioxidant proteins other than the ascorbate-glutathione enzymes, such as some isoforms of glutathione peroxidases, thioredoxins, peroxiredoxins, and glutathione S-transferases, are also critical for nodule activity. To avoid cellular damage, nodules are endowed with several mechanisms for sequestration of Fenton-active metals (nicotianamine, phytochelatins, and metallothioneins) and for controlling ROS/RNS bioactivity (hemoglobins). The use of 'omic' technologies has expanded the list of known antioxidants in plants and nodules that participate in ROS/RNS/antioxidant signaling networks, although aspects of developmental variation and subcellular localization of these networks remain to be elucidated. To this end, a critical point will be to define the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of antioxidant proteins.