ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2015
An antimicrobial peptide essential for bacterial survival in the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers.
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Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed.
- ESN3, a nodule-specific small peptide essential for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Medicago truncatula.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Identification of candidate genes governing key metabolic pathways in fenugreek (Trigonella spp.) through integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis.Functional & integrative genomics · 2026Article
- BacA(SbmA) importer of legume symbiotic NCR peptides: Protein architecture, function, and evolutionary implications.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Mutations in legume genes that influence symbiosis create a complex selective landscape for rhizobial symbionts.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Impacts of gene duplication in the evolution of symbiotic root nodule symbiosis in legumes.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Uclacyanin MtUC1 Is Involved in the Regulation of Nodule Senescence in Medicago truncatula.Molecular plant pathology · 2025Article
- Inhibition of rhizobial cheaters by the host Medicago truncatula involves repression of symbiotic functions and induction of defense.The New phytologist · 2025Article
- Diverse triggers, common outcome: Senescence in Fix⁻ Medicago truncatula nodules.Plant physiology · 2025Article
- Identification and functional analysis of novel precursor genes in cyclic peptide biosynthesis in Pseudostellaria heterophylla.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
- A minimized symbiotic gene set from the 1.68 Mb pSymB chromid of Sinorhizobium meliloti reveals auxiliary symbiotic loci.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Enacting partner specificity in legume-rhizobia symbioses.aBIOTECH · 2025Review
- Protein import into bacterial endosymbionts and evolving organelles.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- The Small Key to the Treasure Chest: Endogenous Plant Peptides Involved in Symbiotic Interactions.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Antagonism within mutualism: host control of symbionts through nodule-specific antimicrobial peptides.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- Comparative analysis of endophytic bacterial localization and microbiome diversity in plant varieties under varied growth conditions through microscopic imaging and sequencing techniques.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- The Roadmap of Plant Antimicrobial Peptides Under Environmental Stress: From Farm to Bedside.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2024Review
- A mitochondrial metalloprotease FtsH4 is required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Lotus japonicus nodules.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Host-imposed control mechanisms in legume-rhizobia symbiosis.Nature microbiology · 2024Review
- Two members of a Nodule-specific Cysteine-Rich (NCR) peptide gene cluster are required for differentiation of rhizobia in Medicago truncatula nodules.The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology · 2024Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between legume hosts and rhizobia, the bacteria are engulfed by a plant cell membrane to become intracellular organelles. In the model legume Medicago truncatula, internalization and differentiation of Sinorhizobium (also known as Ensifer) meliloti is a prerequisite for nitrogen fixation. The host mechanisms that ensure the long-term survival of differentiating intracellular bacteria (bacteroids) in this unusual association are unclear. The M. truncatula defective nitrogen fixation4 (dnf4) mutant is unable to form a productive symbiosis, even though late symbiotic marker genes are expressed in mutant nodules. We discovered that in the dnf4 mutant, bacteroids can apparently differentiate, but they fail to persist within host cells in the process. We found that the DNF4 gene encodes NCR211, a member of the family of nodule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) peptides. The phenotype of dnf4 suggests that NCR211 acts to promote the intracellular survival of differentiating bacteroids. The greatest expression of DNF4 was observed in the nodule interzone II-III, where bacteroids undergo differentiation. A translational fusion of DNF4 with GFP localizes to the peribacteroid space, and synthetic NCR211 prevents free-living S. meliloti from forming colonies, in contrast to mock controls, suggesting that DNF4 may interact with bacteroids directly or indirectly for its function. Our findings indicate that a successful symbiosis requires host effectors that not only induce bacterial differentiation, but also that maintain intracellular bacteroids during the host-symbiont interaction. The discovery of NCR211 peptides that maintain bacterial survival inside host cells has important implications for improving legume crops.
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