title: Terminal Bacteroid Differentiation Is Associated With Variable Morphological Changes in Legume Species Belonging to the Inverted Repeat-Lacking Clade.
abstract: Medicago and closely related legume species from the inverted repeat-lacking clade (IRLC) impose terminal differentiation onto their bacterial endosymbionts, manifested in genome endoreduplication, cell enlargement, and loss of cell-division capacity. Nodule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) secreted host peptides are plant effectors of this process. As bacteroids in other IRLC legumes, such as Cicer arietinum and Glycyrrhiza lepidota, were reported not to display features of terminal differentiation, we investigated the fate of bacteroids in species from these genera as well as in four other species representing distinct genera of the phylogenetic tree for this clade. Bacteroids in all tested legumes proved to be larger in size and DNA content than cultured cells; however, the degree of cell elongation was rather variable in the different species. In addition, the reproductive ability of the bacteroids isolated from these legumes was remarkably reduced. In all IRLC species with available sequence data, the existence of NCR genes was found. These results indicate that IRLC legumes provoke terminal differentiation of their endosymbionts with different morphotypes, probably with the help of NCR peptides.
authors.affiliation: 1 Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temesvári krt. 62, 6726 Szeged, Hungary;
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montiel
authors.affiliation: 1 Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temesvári krt. 62, 6726 Szeged, Hungary;
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szűcs
authors.affiliation: 1 Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temesvári krt. 62, 6726 Szeged, Hungary;|2 Research Institute for Renewable Energy, Polytechnic University of Timisoara. Piaţa Victoriei Nr. 2, 300006 Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Iulian Z
authors.initials: IZ
authors.lastname: Boboescu
authors.affiliation: 2 Research Institute for Renewable Energy, Polytechnic University of Timisoara. Piaţa Victoriei Nr. 2, 300006 Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Vasile D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Gherman
authors.affiliation: 1 Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temesvári krt. 62, 6726 Szeged, Hungary;
authors.forename: Éva
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Kondorosi
authors.affiliation: 1 Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temesvári krt. 62, 6726 Szeged, Hungary;
authors.forename: Attila
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4421-6554
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kereszt
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000502:physiology; D055029:Inverted Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins