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  • Bacterial-induced calcium oscillations are common to nitrogen-fixing associations of nodulating legumes and nonlegumes.

Bacterial-induced calcium oscillations are common to nitrogen-fixing associations of nodulating legumes and nonlegumes.

The New phytologist (2015-05-27)
Emma Granqvist, Jongho Sun, Rik Op den Camp, Petar Pujic, Lionel Hill, Philippe Normand, Richard J Morris, J Allan Downie, Rene Geurts, Giles E D Oldroyd
ABSTRACT

Plants that form root-nodule symbioses are within a monophyletic 'nitrogen-fixing' clade and associated signalling processes are shared with the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Central to symbiotic signalling are nuclear-associated oscillations in calcium ions (Ca(2+) ), occurring in the root hairs of several legume species in response to the rhizobial Nod factor signal. In this study we expanded the species analysed for activation of Ca(2+) oscillations, including nonleguminous species within the nitrogen-fixing clade. We showed that Ca(2+) oscillations are a common feature of legumes in their association with rhizobia, while Cercis, a non-nodulating legume, does not show Ca(2+) oscillations in response to Nod factors from Sinorhizobium fredii NGR234. Parasponia andersonii, a nonlegume that can associate with rhizobia, showed Nod factor-induced calcium oscillations to S. fredii NGR234 Nod factors, but its non-nodulating sister species, Trema tomentosa, did not. Also within the nitrogen-fixing clade are actinorhizal species that associate with Frankia bacteria and we showed that Alnus glutinosa induces Ca(2+) oscillations in root hairs in response to exudates from Frankia alni, but not to S. fredii NGR234 Nod factors. We conclude that the ability to mount Ca(2+) oscillations in response to symbiotic bacteria is a common feature of nodulating species within the nitrogen-fixing clade.

MATERIALS
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Brand
Product Description

Sigma-Aldrich
Formic acid, ≥95%, FCC, FG
Sigma-Aldrich
Formic acid, JIS special grade, ≥98.0%