Down‐regulation of SymRK correlates with a deficiency in vascular bundle development in Phaseolus vulgaris nodules

• Published in: Plant, cell and environment Vol. 34; no. 12; pp. 2109 - 2121
• Main Authors: SÁNCHEZ‐LÓPEZ, ROSANA, JÁUREGUI, DAVID, NAVA, NOREIDE, ALVARADO‐AFFANTRANGER, XÓCHITL, MONTIEL, JESÚS, SANTANA, OLIVIA, SANCHEZ, FEDERICO, QUINTO, CARMEN
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2011; Blackwell
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; DMI2; Down-Regulation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gene Knockdown Techniques; LRR‐RLK; nodulation; NORK; Parasitism and symbiosis; Phaseolus - enzymology; Phaseolus - genetics; Plant physiology and development; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant Root Nodulation; Plants, Genetically Modified - enzymology; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Root Nodules, Plant - enzymology; Root Nodules, Plant - growth & development; Signal Transduction; Symbiosis; SymRK; vascular bundle; Plant ecology; Nodulation; Plant nodule; SymRK; LRR-RLK; Grain legume; DMI2; Leguminosae; Vegetable crop; Vascular bundle; Phaseolus vulgaris; Top down control; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Development; Spermatophyta; NORK
• ISSN: 0140-7791; 1365-3040
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2011.02408.x

ABSTRACT The symbiotic interaction of legumes and rhizobia results in the formation of nitrogen‐fixing nodules. Nodulation depends on the finely coordinated expression of a battery of genes involved in the infection and the organogenesis processes. After Nod factor perception, symbiosis receptor kinase (SymRK) receptor triggers a signal transduction cascade essential for nodulation leading to cortical cell divisions, infection thread (IT) formation and final release of rhizobia to the intracellular space, forming the symbiosome. Herein, the participation of SymRK receptor during the nodule organogenesis in Phaseolus vulgaris is addressed. Our findings indicate that besides its expression in the nodule epidermis, in IT, and in uninfected cells of the infection zone, PvSymRK immunolocalizes in the root and nodule vascular system. On the other hand, knockdown expression of PvSymRK led to the formation of scarce and defective nodules, which presented alterations in both IT/symbiosome formation and vascular system. The functional relationship between the spatio‐temporal distribution of the signal transducer SymRK receptor and the development of P. vulgaris nodules has been addressed. PvSymRK immunolocalizes to root and nodule vascular system. Besides an impairment in nodulation and a deficiency in both IT/symbiosome formation, down‐regulation of PvSymRK correlates with severe alterations in the development of nodule vasculature.