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Signalling in actinorhizal root nodule symbioses

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Abstract

Plants able to establish a nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis with the actinobacterium Frankia are called actinorhizal. These interactions lead to the formation of new root organs, called actinorhizal nodules, where the bacteria are hosted intracellularly and fix atmospheric nitrogen thus providing the plant with an almost unlimited source of nitrogen for its nutrition. Like other symbiotic interactions, actinorhizal nodulation involves elaborate signalling between both partners of the symbiosis, leading to specific recognition between the plant and its compatible microbial partner, its accommodation inside plant cells and the development of functional root nodules. Actinorhizal nodulation shares many features with rhizobial nodulation but our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in actinorhizal nodulation remains very scarce. However recent technical achievements for several actinorhizal species are allowing major discoveries in this field. In this review, we provide an outline on signalling molecules involved at different stages of actinorhizal nodule formation and the corresponding signalling pathways and gene networks.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge support from IRD, CNRS (Project EC2CO), Genoscope, Genopole of Montpellier, and Agence Nationale de la Recherche (AN-06-BLAN-0095, BLAN 1708 01, 12-BSV7-0007-02) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA NIFA 2015-67014-22849) and ECOS-SUD (A07B02 and A13B03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LSTM, UMR 040 IRD/INRA/CIRAD, Université Montpellier/Supagro, TA A-82/J, Campus International de Baillarguet, 34398, Montpellier CDX 5, France

    Valérie Hocher, Alyssa Carré-Mlouka, Pierre Tisseyre, Hassen Gherbi & Sergio Svistoonoff

  2. LCM, IRD/ISRA, UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, BP 1386, Dakar, Senegal

    Mariama Ngom & Sergio Svistoonoff

  3. LMI LAPSE, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, BP 1386, Dakar, Senegal

    Mariama Ngom & Sergio Svistoonoff

  4. MCAM, UMR 7245 CNRS/MNHN, Sorbonne Universités, CP 54, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France

    Alyssa Carré-Mlouka

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  1. Valérie Hocher
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  2. Mariama Ngom
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  3. Alyssa Carré-Mlouka
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  6. Sergio Svistoonoff
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VH, MN, ACM, PT, HG and SS wrote the manuscript. All the authors approved the paper.

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Correspondence to Sergio Svistoonoff.

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Hocher, V., Ngom, M., Carré-Mlouka, A. et al. Signalling in actinorhizal root nodule symbioses. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 112, 23–29 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-018-1182-x

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