Root-knot nematodes and bacterial Nod factors elicit common signal transduction events in Lotus japonicus

The symbiosis responsible for nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules is initiated by rhizobial signaling molecules [Nod factors (NF)]. Using transgenically tagged microtubules and actin, we dynamically profiled the spatiotemporal changes in the cytoskeleton of living Lotus japonicus root hairs, wh...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 102; no. 8; pp. 3147 - 3152
Main Authors Weerasinghe, R.R, Bird, D.M, Allen, N.S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 22.02.2005
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
Actins
Animals
Bacteria
bacterial proteins
Biological Sciences
Botany
Branching
cytoskeleton
Cytoskeleton - physiology
host-parasite relationships
Lipopolysaccharides - pharmacology
Loteae - physiology
Lotus
Lotus corniculatus var. japonicus
Lotus japonicus
Meloidogyne incognita
Mesorhizobium loti
mutants
Nematoda
Nematodes
nodulation
Parasite hosts
Parasites
Plant gall
plant proteins
Plant roots
Plants
Receptors
Root hairs
root-knot nematodes
Signal transduction
Signal Transduction - physiology
Symbiosis
Tylenchoidea - physiology
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Summary:The symbiosis responsible for nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules is initiated by rhizobial signaling molecules [Nod factors (NF)]. Using transgenically tagged microtubules and actin, we dynamically profiled the spatiotemporal changes in the cytoskeleton of living Lotus japonicus root hairs, which precede root-hair deformation and reflect one of the earliest host responses to NF. Remarkably, plant-parasitic root-knot nematodes (RKN) invoke a cytoskeletal response identical to that seen in response to NF and induce root-hair waviness and branching in legume root hairs via a signal able to function at a distance. Azide-killed nematodes do not produce this signal. A similar response to RKN was seen in tomato. Aspects of the host responses to RKN were altered or abolished by mutations in the NF receptor genes nfr1, nfr5, and symRK, suggesting that RKN produce a molecule with functional equivalence to NF, which we name NemF. Because the ability of RKN to establish feeding sites and reproduce was markedly reduced in the mutant lines, we propose that RKN have adapted at least part of the symbiont-response pathway to enhance their parasitic ability.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
Edited by Maarten J. Chrispeels, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Abbreviations: GC, giant cell(s); L2, second-stage nematode larva(e); MT, microtubule(s); NF, Nod factors; RKN, root-knot nematode; NemF, RKN factor; SYMRK, symbiosis receptor-like kinase.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: nina_allen@ncsu.edu.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0407926102