Journal Article

Single-cell analysis identifies genes facilitating rhizobium infection in Lotus japonicus

Frank, Manuel, Montiel, Jesus, Reid, Dugald, Nørgaard, Malita Malou Malekzadeh, Andersen, Kasper Røjkjær, Tedeschi, Francesca, Nadzieja, Marcin, Fechete, Lavinia Ioana, Schierup, Mikkel H., Andersen, Stig Uggerhøj

2023

Overview

Legume-rhizobium signaling during establishment of symbiotic nitrogen fixation restricts rhizobium colonization to specific cells. A limited number of root hair cells allow infection threads to form, and only a fraction of the epidermal infection threads progress to cortical layers to establish functional nodules. Here we use single-cell analysis to define the epidermal and cortical cell populations that respond to and facilitate rhizobium infection. We then identify high-confidence nodulation gene candidates based on their specific expression in these populations, pinpointing genes stably associated with infection across genotypes and time points. We show that one of these, which we name SYMRKL1 , encodes a protein with an ectodomain predicted to be nearly identical to that of SYMRK and is required for normal infection thread formation. Our work disentangles cellular processes and transcriptional modules that were previously confounded due to lack of cellular resolution, providing a more detailed understanding of symbiotic interactions. The authors use single-cell analysis to identify genes specifically expressed in plant root cells that respond to infection by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. They show that one of these genes, SYMRKL1 , is required for normal progression of infection.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 14/19 / 14/35 / 14/63 / 38/39 / 38/91 / 631/326/41/547 / 631/449/1659 / 631/449/2676/2678 / Cells / Genes / Genomics / Humanities and Social Sciences / Infections / Kinases / Legumes / multidisciplinary / Nitrogen / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Soil sciences