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Casuarina glauca: A model tree for basic research in actinorhizal symbiosis

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Abstract

Casuarina glauca is a fast-growing multipurpose tree belonging to the Casuarinaceae family and native to Australia. It requires limited use of chemical fertilizers due to the symbiotic association with the nitrogen-fixing actinomycete Frankia and with mycorrhizal fungi, which help improve phosphorous and water uptake by the root system. C. glauca can grow in difficult sites, colonize eroded lands and improve their fertility, thereby enabling the subsequent growth of more demanding plant species. As a result, this tree is increasingly used for reforestation and reclamation of degraded lands in tropical and subtropical areas such as China and Egypt. Many tools have been developed in recent years to explore the molecular basis of the interaction between Frankia and C. glauca. These tools include in vitro culture of the host and genetic transformation with Agrobacterium, genome sequencing of Frankia and related studies, isolation of plant symbiotic genes combined with functional analyses (including knock-down expression based on RNA interference), and transcriptome analyses of roots inoculated with Frankia or Rhizophagus irregularis. These efforts have been fruitful since recent results established that many common molecular mechanisms regulate the nodulation process in actinorhizal plants and legumes, thus providing new insights into the evolution of nitrogen-fixing symbioses.

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Acknowledgements

Research on actinorhizal plants was supported by the Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, the Chinese Academy of Forestry, the Suez Canal University, the Institut of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, the Institute de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), the Montpellier University 2, the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) Blanc project NewNod (ANR-06-BLAN-0095) and SESAM (BLAN-1708-01), and the PHC-IMHOTEP 27467SA. We thank Jocelyne Bonneau (IRD) for help with the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, No.682 Guangshan Yilu, Longdong, Guangzhou, 510520, People’s Republic of China

    Chonglu Zhong

  2. Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

    Samira Mansour

  3. Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Forest Campus, R. S. Puram, Coimbatore, 641 002, India

    Mathish Nambiar-Veetil

  4. Equipe Rhizogenèse, UMR DIADE, IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement), 911 avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394, Montpellier, Cedex 5, France

    Didier Bogusz & Claudine Franche

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  1. Chonglu Zhong
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[Zhong C, Mansour S, Nambiar-Veetil M, Bogusz D and Franche C 2013 Casuarina glauca: A model tree for basic research in actinorhizal symbiosis. J. Biosci. 38 1–9] DOI10.1007/s12038-013-9370-3

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Zhong, C., Mansour, S., Nambiar-Veetil, M. et al. Casuarina glauca: A model tree for basic research in actinorhizal symbiosis. J Biosci 38, 815–823 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-013-9370-3

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