title: Mesorhizobium loti increases root-specific expression of a calcium-binding protein homologue identified by promoter tagging in Lotus japonicus.
abstract: A promoter tagging program in the legume Lotus japonicus was initiated to identify plant genes involved in the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between legumes and rhizobia. Seven transformed plant lines expressing the promoterless reporter gene uidA (beta-glucuronidase; GUS) specifically in roots and/or nodules were identified. Four of these expressed GUS in the roots only after inoculation with nodule-forming Mesorhizobium loti. In one line (T90), GUS activity was found in the root epidermis, including root hairs. During seedling growth, GUS expression gradually became focused in developing nodules and disappeared from root tissue. No GUS activity was detected when a non-nodulating mutant of M. loti was used to inoculate the plants. The T-DNA insertion in this plant line was located 1.3 kb upstream of a putative coding sequence with strong homology to calcium-binding proteins. Four motifs were identified, which were very similar to the "EF hands" in calmodulin-related proteins, each binding one Ca2+. We have named the gene LjCbp1 (calcium-binding protein). Northern (RNA) analyses showed that this gene is expressed specifically in roots of L. japonicus. Expression was reduced in roots inoculated with non-nodulating M. loti mutants and in progeny homozygous for the T-DNA insertion, suggesting a link between the T-DNA insertion and this gene.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Ceredigion, Wales, UK.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Skøt
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mizen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D020832:EF Hand Motifs; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D005966:Glucuronidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012230:Rhizobiaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; C414529:Cbp1 protein, Lotus japonicus; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010940:Plant Proteins; C036483:T-DNA; D005966:Glucuronidase