A promiscuity locus confers Lotus burttii nodulation with rhizobia from five different genera

Mohammad Zarrabian, Jesus Montiel (Lead / Corresponding author), Niels Sandal, Shaun Ferguson, Haojie JIn, Yen-Yu Lin, Verena Klingi, Macarena Marin, Euan K. James, Martin Parniske, Jens Stougaard, Stig U. Andersen (Lead / Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)
509 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Legumes acquire access to atmospheric nitrogen through nitrogen fixation by rhizobia in root nodules. Rhizobia are soil-dwelling bacteria and there is a tremendous diversity of rhizobial species in different habitats. From the legume perspective, host range is a compromise between the ability to colonize new habitats, in which the preferred symbiotic partner may be absent, and guarding against infection by suboptimal nitrogen fixers. Here, we investigate natural variation in rhizobial host range across Lotus species. We find that Lotus burttii is considerably more promiscuous than Lotus japonicus, represented by the Gifu accession, in its interactions with rhizobia. This promiscuity allows Lotus burttii to form nodules with Mesorhizobium, Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, and Allorhizobium species that represent five distinct genera. Using recombinant inbred lines, we have mapped the Gifu/burttii promiscuity quantitative trait loci (QTL) to the same genetic locus regardless of rhizobial genus, suggesting a general genetic mechanism for symbiont-range expansion. The Gifu/burttii QTL now provides an opportunity for genetic and mechanistic understanding of promiscuous legume-rhizobia interactions. [Formula: see text]

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1006-1017
Number of pages12
JournalMolecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
Volume35
Issue number11
Early online date19 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

Keywords

  • symbiotic nitrogen fixation
  • Lotus
  • host range
  • genetic mapping
  • rhizobia

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A promiscuity locus confers Lotus burttii nodulation with rhizobia from five different genera'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this