A Krüppel-like zinc finger protein is involved in nitrogen-fixing root nodule organogenesis
Abstract
Mechanisms regulating plant host differentiation of the nitrogen-fixing root nodules remain mostly unknown. Sinorhizobium meliloti induces this process in Medicago sativa in which the Mszpt2-1 gene is expressed in vascular bundles of roots and nodules. This gene codes for a Krüppel-like zinc finger protein, a class of transcription factors involved in many animal developmental processes. Expression of Mszpt2-1 in yeast cells conferred osmotic tolerance. Antisense plants grew normally but developed nonfunctional nodules, in which differentiation of the nitrogen-fixing zone and bacterial invasion were arrested. Hence, a vascular bundle-associated Krüppel-like gene is required for the formation of the central nitrogen-fixing zone of the root nodule.
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Footnotes
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↵3 Corresponding author.
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E-MAIL adam.kondorosi{at}isv.cnrs-gif.fr; FAX 33-01 69 82 3695.
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- Received August 5, 1999.
- Accepted January 7, 2000.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
