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Jarratt-Barnham E, Oldroyd GED, Choi J. Efficiently recording and processing data from arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization assays using AMScorer and AMReader. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1405598. [PMID: 38828215 PMCID: PMC11140075 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1405598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi engage with land plants in a widespread, mutualistic endosymbiosis which provides their hosts with increased access to nutrients and enhanced biotic and abiotic stress resistance. The potential for reducing fertiliser use and improving crop resilience has resulted in rapidly increasing scientific interest. Microscopic quantification of the level of AM colonization is of fundamental importance to this research, however the methods for recording and processing these data are time-consuming and tedious. In order to streamline these processes, we have developed AMScorer, an easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet, which enables the user to record data rapidly during from microscopy-based assays, and instantly performs the subsequent data processing steps. In our hands, AMScorer has more than halved the time required for data collection compared to paper-based methods. Subsequently, we developed AMReader, a user-friendly R package, which enables easy visualization and statistical analyses of data from AMScorer. These tools require only limited skills in Excel and R, and can accelerate research into AM symbioses, help researchers with variable resources to conduct research, and facilitate the storage and sharing of data from AM colonization assays. They are available for download at https://github.com/EJarrattBarnham/AMReader, along with an extensive user manual.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jeongmin Choi
- *Correspondence: Edwin Jarratt-Barnham, ; Jeongmin Choi,
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Alhusayni S, Roswanjaya YP, Rutten L, Huisman R, Bertram S, Sharma T, Schon M, Kohlen W, Klein J, Geurts R. A rare non-canonical splice site in Trema orientalis SYMRK does not affect its dual symbiotic functioning in endomycorrhiza and rhizobium nodulation. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 23:587. [PMID: 37996841 PMCID: PMC10668435 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-023-04594-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nitrogen-fixing nodules occur in ten related taxonomic lineages interspersed with lineages of non-nodulating plant species. Nodules result from an endosymbiosis between plants and diazotrophic bacteria; rhizobia in the case of legumes and Parasponia and Frankia in the case of actinorhizal species. Nodulating plants share a conserved set of symbiosis genes, whereas related non-nodulating sister species show pseudogenization of several key nodulation-specific genes. Signalling and cellular mechanisms critical for nodulation have been co-opted from the more ancient plant-fungal arbuscular endomycorrhizal symbiosis. Studies in legumes and actinorhizal plants uncovered a key component in symbiotic signalling, the LRR-type SYMBIOSIS RECEPTOR KINASE (SYMRK). SYMRK is essential for nodulation and arbuscular endomycorrhizal symbiosis. To our surprise, however, despite its arbuscular endomycorrhizal symbiosis capacities, we observed a seemingly critical mutation in a donor splice site in the SYMRK gene of Trema orientalis, the non-nodulating sister species of Parasponia. This led us to investigate the symbiotic functioning of SYMRK in the Trema-Parasponia lineage and to address the question of to what extent a single nucleotide polymorphism in a donor splice site affects the symbiotic functioning of SYMRK. RESULTS We show that SYMRK is essential for nodulation and endomycorrhization in Parasponia andersonii. Subsequently, it is revealed that the 5'-intron donor splice site of SYMRK intron 12 is variable and, in most dicotyledon species, doesn't contain the canonical dinucleotide 'GT' signature but the much less common motif 'GC'. Strikingly, in T. orientalis, this motif is converted into a rare non-canonical 5'-intron donor splice site 'GA'. This SYMRK allele, however, is fully functional and spreads in the T. orientalis population of Malaysian Borneo. A further investigation into the occurrence of the non-canonical GA-AG splice sites confirmed that these are extremely rare. CONCLUSION SYMRK functioning is highly conserved in legumes, actinorhizal plants, and Parasponia. The gene possesses a non-common 5'-intron GC donor splice site in intron 12, which is converted into a GA in T. orientalis accessions of Malaysian Borneo. The discovery of this functional GA-AG splice site in SYMRK highlights a gap in our understanding of splice donor sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sultan Alhusayni
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Biological Sciences Department, College of Science, King Faisal University, 31982, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yuda Purwana Roswanjaya
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong, 16911, Indonesia
| | - Luuk Rutten
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rik Huisman
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Simon Bertram
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Trupti Sharma
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Schon
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Kohlen
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Joël Klein
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Rene Geurts
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cluster of Plant Development, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Hu W, Pan L, Chen H, Tang M. VBA-AMF: A VBA Program Based on the Magnified Intersections Method for Quantitative Recording of Root Colonization by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. Indian J Microbiol 2020; 60:374-378. [PMID: 32647395 PMCID: PMC7329954 DOI: 10.1007/s12088-020-00866-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The extent of mycorrhizal fungi colonization is an important factor for determining the function of mycorrhizal fungi in fungi-host interaction, and quantifying the extent of mycorrhizal fungi colonization is a fundamental and essential task for researchers engaged in mycorrhizal studies. Intersect methods, such as the gridline intersect and magnified intersections methods, are accurate and objective, and are widely used to assess the colonization status of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus. However, no convenient procedures or add-ins for Excel spreadsheets have been developed to simplify these methods. Here, we propose a procedure using the Visual Basic for Application (VBA) program in Excel that is based on the magnified intersections method, which we refer to as VBA-AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi). Time-saving and convenience are the two most prominent advantages of the VBA-AMF procedure, as it enables researchers to compute the colonization rate of AM fungi in roots, and consequently the extent of root colonization by AM fungi. VBA-AMF can also be modified to measure the status of other fungal colonizations in plant roots following the same strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wentao Hu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovative Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 People’s Republic of China
| | - Lan Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovative Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 People’s Republic of China
| | - Hui Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovative Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 People’s Republic of China
| | - Ming Tang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovative Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 People’s Republic of China
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