Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41942423›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Ancestral functionality and symbiotic refinement of NIN in root nodule symbiosis.

Jieyu Liu, Siqi Yan, Min Li, Defeng Shen, Michaela Tichá, René Bærentsen, Kasper Røjkjær Andersen, Floris Verbeek, Olga Kulikova, Rene Geurts and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Jieyu Liu *Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5607-7291
Siqi Yan *Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-6517-5046
Min LiLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Defeng ShenLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6530-8837
Michaela TicháLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8021-8082
René BærentsenDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Kasper Røjkjær AndersenDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4415-8067
Floris VerbeekLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Olga KulikovaLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Rene GeurtsLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands. rene.geurts@wur.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6443-2289
Ton BisselingLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands. ton.bisseling@wur.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5494-8786
Rik HuismanLaboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands. rik.huisman@wur.nl.

Funding

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) INV- 57461China Scholarship Council (CSC) 201506300062China Scholarship Council (CSC) 201906170085China Scholarship Council (CSC) 202008150090Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) VI.Veni.212.132
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nitrogen-fixing nodule symbiosis is an ecologically and economically important trait in legumes and some related species. A critical step in the evolution of nodulation is the recruitment of NODULE INCEPTION (NIN); a homolog of the nitrate-sensing NIN-LIKE PROTEIN (NLP) transcription factors. However, whether adaptations have occurred in the NIN protein upon its recruitment in symbiosis remains elusive. Here we show that non-symbiotic NIN orthologs can function in intracellular infection and even nodule initiation, indicating that these properties of NIN predate the evolution of nodulation. Concurrent with the evolution of nodulation, symbiotic NIN proteins were optimized for their role in symbiosis by acquiring nitrate independent functionality, including constitutive nuclear localization. A single amino acid substitution in the non-symbiotic Arabidopsis AtNLP2 enhances its nuclear localization under low nitrate conditions, making it functionally comparable to the symbiotic Parasponia PanNIN. Our study provides insight in the evolutionary trajectory and molecular adaptation that allowed NIN to function as the central regulator of nitrogen-fixing nodule symbiosis.

Indexed as

Plant ProteinsRoot Nodules, PlantSymbiosisTranscription FactorsArabidopsisArabidopsis ProteinsGene Expression Regulation, PlantNitratesNitrogen FixationPlant Root NodulationArabidopsis ProteinsNitratesPlant ProteinsTranscription Factors

Identifiers

PMID41942423
PMCPMC13230612

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.