title: Functional analysis of alternative transcripts of the soybean Rj2 gene that restricts nodulation with specific rhizobial strains.
abstract: The Rj2 gene is a TIR-NBS-LRR-type resistance gene in soybean (Glycine max) that restricts root nodule symbiosis with a group of Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains including USDA122. Rj2 generates two distinct transcript variants in its expression profile through alternative splicing. Alternative splicing of Rj2 is caused by the retention of the 86-bp intron 4. Inclusion of intron 4 in mature mRNA introduces an in-frame stop codon; as such, the alternative transcript is predicted to encode a truncated protein consisting of the entire portion of the TIR, NBS and LRR domains but missing the C-terminal domain of the full-length Rj2 protein encoded by the regular transcript. Since alternative splicing has been shown to be essential for full activity of several plant R genes, we attempted to test whether the alternative splicing is required for Rj2-mediated nodulation restriction. Here we demonstrated that the Rj2-mediated nodulation restriction does not require the combined presence of the regular and alternative transcripts, and the expression of the regular transcript alone is sufficient to confer nodulation restriction.
authors: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Tang
authors: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Yang
authors: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Zhu
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D020369:Bradyrhizobium / Q000502:physiology*; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055170:Plant Root Nodulation; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D000072417:Protein Domains; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000502:physiology*; D013025:Glycine max / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018749:RNA, Plant
keywords: Alternative splicing; Rj2; nodulation restriction; soybean