Physiological effects of major up-regulated Alnus glutinosa peptides on Frankia sp. ACN14a

• Published in: Microbiology (Society for General Microbiology) Vol. 162; no. 7; pp. 1173 - 1184
• Main Authors: Carro, Lorena, Pujic, Petar, Alloisio, Nicole, Fournier, Pascale, Boubakri, Hasna, Poly, Franck, Rey, Marjolaine, Heddi, Abdelaziz, Normand, Philippe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Microbiology Society 01.07.2016
• Subjects: Alnus - metabolism; Bacterial Adhesion - drug effects; Defensins - pharmacology; Frankia - drug effects; Frankia - growth & development; Frankia - metabolism; Life Sciences; Nitrogen Fixation - drug effects; Oxygen Consumption - drug effects; Plant Proteins - pharmacology; Plant Root Nodulation - physiology; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plant Roots - microbiology; Soil Microbiology; Symbiosis - drug effects; acide aminé; peptide; amino acid; defensin; symbiosis; phylogeny; respiration; phylogénie; nitrogen fixation; symbiose; fixation de l'azote
• ISSN: 1350-0872; 1465-2080
• DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000291

Alnus glutinosa has been shown previously to synthesize, in response to nodulation by Frankia sp. ACN14a, an array of peptides called Alnus symbiotic up-regulated peptides (ASUPs). In a previous study one peptide (Ag5) was shown to bind to Frankia nitrogen-fixing vesicles and to modify their porosity. Here we analyse four other ASUPs, alongside Ag5, to determine whether they have different physiological effects on in vitro grown Frankia sp. ACN14a. The five studied peptides were shown to have different effects on nitrogen fixation, respiration, growth, the release of ions and amino acids, as well as on cell clumping and cell lysis. The mRNA abundance for all five peptides was quantified in symbiotic nodules and one (Ag11) was found to be more abundant in the meristem part of the nodule. These findings point to some peptides having complementary effects on Frankia cells.