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Plant Physiology Preview Published on March 16, 2006; 10.1104/pp.106.076711
OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
Received January 12, 2006 Recruitment of Novel Calcium-Binding Proteins for Root Nodule Symbiosis in Medicago truncatula
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108 * Corresponding author; email: vance004{at}umn.edu.
Legume-rhizobia symbiotic nitrogen (N2 ) fixation plays a critical role in sustainable N management in agriculture and in Earth's N cycle. Signaling between rhizobia and legumes initiates development of a unique plant organ, the root nodule, where the bacteria undergo endocytosis and become surrounded by a plant membrane to form a symbiosome (Sym). Between this membrane and the encased bacteria there exists a matrix-filled space (the symbiosome space, SymS) that is thought to contain a mixture of plant- and bacterially-derived proteins . Maintenance of the symbiosis state requires continuous communication between the plant and bacterial partners. Here we show in the model legume Medicago truncatula (M. truncatula) that a novel family of six calmodulin-like proteins (CaMLs), expressed specifically in root nodules, are localized within the SymS. All six nodule-specific CaML genes are clustered in the M. truncatula genome along with two other nodule-specific genes nodulin-22 and nodulin-25. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis suggests that an unequal recombination event occurred between nodulin-25 and a nearby calmodulin (CaM) gave rise to the first CaML and the gene family evolved by tandem duplication and divergence. The data provide striking evidence for the recruitment of a ubiquitious Ca2+-binding gene for symbiotic purposes.
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