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A single hemoglobin gene in Myrica gale retains both symbiotic and non-symbiotic specificity

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Abstract

Here, a hemoglobin gene from the nitrogen-fixing actinorhizal plant Myrica gale was isolated, cloned and sequenced. The gene (MgHb) was a class I hemoglobin with strong sequence homology to non-symbiotic hemoglobin genes. MgHb is highly expressed in symbiotic root nodules, but transcripts and protein were also detected in leaves of M. gale. In Arabidopsis thaliana the MgHb promoter, linked to a β-glucuronidase coding region, directed expression in the vascular tissue, in shoot meristem and at root branch point - a pattern very similar to the combined expression pattern of the two non-symbiotic A. thaliana hemoglobin promoters AHb1 and AHb2. The results points to a symbiotic as well as a non-symbiotic specificity of MgHb similar to a hemoglobin gene identified in Parasponia andersonii, but different from the situation in Casuarina glauca - a close actinorhizal relative of M. gale.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxyl acid

GUS:

ß-Glucuronidase

MgHb:

Myrica gale hemoglobin

WT:

Wildtype

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular biology, Laboratory of Gene Expression, University of Aarhus Gustav Wieds Vej, 10C DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Anne B. Heckmann, Kim H. Hebelstrup & Erik Ø. Jensen

  2. Department of Crop Physiology and Soil Science, Danish Institute of Agricultural Science, 50, DK-8830 , Tjele, Denmark

    Knud Larsen

  3. Institutode Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, EAN, ITQB II, Piso 6, Apartado 127, 2781-901, Oeiras, Portugal

    Nuno M. Micaelo

  4. Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

    Anne B. Heckmann

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  1. Anne B. Heckmann
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  2. Kim H. Hebelstrup
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  3. Knud Larsen
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  4. Nuno M. Micaelo
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  5. Erik Ø. Jensen
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Correspondence to Erik Ø. Jensen.

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Anne B. Heckmann and Kim H. Hebelstrup contributed equally to this work

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Heckmann, A.B., Hebelstrup, K.H., Larsen, K. et al. A single hemoglobin gene in Myrica gale retains both symbiotic and non-symbiotic specificity. Plant Mol Biol 61, 769–779 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-006-0048-1

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