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Contribution of transgenic Casuarinaceae to our knowledge of the actinorhizal symbioses

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Abstract

The Casuarinaceae family is a group of 96 species of trees and shrubs that are tolerant to adverse soil and climatic conditions. In the field, Casuarinaceae bears nitrogen-fixing root nodules (so called actinorhizal nodules) resulting from infection by the soil actinomycete Frankia. The association between Casuarina and Frankia is of tremendous ecological importance in tropical and subtropical areas where these trees contribute to land stabilization and soil reclamation. During differentiation of the actinorhizal nodule, a set of genes called actinorhizal nodulins is activated in the developing nodule. Understanding the molecular basis of actinorhizal nodule ontogenesis requires molecular tools such as genomics together with gene transfer technologies for functional analysis of symbiotic genes. Using the biological vectors Agrobacterium rhizogenes and A. tumefaciens, gene transfer into the two species Allocasuarina verticillata and Casuarina glauca has been successful. Transgenic Casuarinaceae plants proved to be valuable tools for exploring the molecular mechanisms resulting from the infection process of actinorhizal plants by Frankia.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) and by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) Blanc project NewNod (ANR-06-BLAN-0095). Dr. Mathish Nambiar-Veetil was financially supported by a grant from the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. Pr. Chonglu Zhong was supported by a DSF (Département Soutien et Formation) fellowship from IRD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Equipe Rhizogénèse, UMR DIAPC, INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique), 911 avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Sergio Svistoonoff, Hassen Gherbi, Zuzanna Michalak, Laurent Laplaze, Virginie Vaissayre, Florence Auguy, Valérie Hocher, Patrick Doumas, Jocelyne Bonneau, Didier Bogusz & Claudine Franche

  2. Plant Biotechnology Division, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Forest Campus, R. S. Puram, Coimbatore, 641 002, India

    Mathish Nambiar-Veetil

  3. Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China

    Chonglu Zhong

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  1. Sergio Svistoonoff
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  2. Hassen Gherbi
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  3. Mathish Nambiar-Veetil
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  9. Valérie Hocher
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Correspondence to Sergio Svistoonoff.

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Presented at the 15th International Frankia and Actinorhizal Plants Meeting, Bariloche, Argentina, October 19–23, 2008.

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Svistoonoff, S., Gherbi, H., Nambiar-Veetil, M. et al. Contribution of transgenic Casuarinaceae to our knowledge of the actinorhizal symbioses. Symbiosis 50, 3–11 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-009-0036-8

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