Franssen Henk J, Kulikova Olga, Willemsen Viola, Heidstra Renze
a Department of Plant Sciences , Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University , Wageningen , The Netherlands.
b Department of Plant Sciences , Plant Developmental Biology, Wageningen University , Wageningen , The Netherlands.
Plant Signal Behav. 2017 Feb;12(2):e1278102. doi: 10.1080/15592324.2016.1278102.
Nodules are unique organs formed on roots of legumes by soil-borne bacteria, collectively known as rhizobium. Recently, we have shown that orthologs of the AINTEGUMENTA-like (AIL) AP2 transcription factors PLETHORA (PLT) 1 to 4, that redundantly regulate Arabidopsis thaliana root development are involved in root and nodule growth in Medicago truncatula. Hence, it is conceivable that rhizobium has co-opted these genes for nodule development. Whether this co-option requires the presence of specific cis-elements in the promoters and/or specialization of PLT protein function is not clear. Here, we analyzed the qualitative expression patterns of the Arabidopsis PLT1 to 4 promoters in Medicago roots and nodules and compared these with the described expression patterns of the Medicago PLT genes. Our studies reveal that the expression patterns of the investigated promoters and their Medicago orthologs are very similar, indicating that at least all cis-elements regulating spatial PLT expression are conserved among the Arabidopsis and Medicago PLT1 to 4 promoters.
根瘤是由土壤细菌（统称为根瘤菌）在豆科植物根部形成的独特器官。最近，我们发现拟南芥中冗余调控根发育的类珠被（AIL）AP2转录因子多能性（PLT）1至4的直系同源基因参与了蒺藜苜蓿的根和根瘤生长。因此，可以推测根瘤菌已选择这些基因用于根瘤发育。这种选择是否需要启动子中存在特定的顺式元件和/或PLT蛋白功能的特化尚不清楚。在这里，我们分析了拟南芥PLT1至4启动子在苜蓿根和根瘤中的定性表达模式，并将其与已描述的苜蓿PLT基因的表达模式进行比较。我们的研究表明，所研究的启动子及其苜蓿直系同源基因的表达模式非常相似，这表明至少所有调控PLT空间表达的顺式元件在拟南芥和苜蓿PLT1至4启动子中是保守的。
