An SHR–SCR module specifies legume cortical cell fate to enable nodulation

Wentao Dong, Yayun Zhu, Huizhong Chang, Chunhua Wang, Jun Yang, Jincai Shi, Jinpeng Gao, Weibing Yang, Liying Lan, Yuru Wang, Xiaowei Zhang, Huiling Dai, Yuchen Miao, Lin Xu, Zuhua He, Chunpeng Song, Shuang Wu, Dong Wang, Nan Yu and Ertao Wang ()
Additional contact information
Wentao Dong: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yayun Zhu: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Huizhong Chang: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chunhua Wang: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Jun Yang: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jincai Shi: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jinpeng Gao: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Weibing Yang: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Liying Lan: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuru Wang: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaowei Zhang: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Huiling Dai: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuchen Miao: Henan University
Lin Xu: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zuhua He: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chunpeng Song: Henan University
Shuang Wu: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Dong Wang: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Nan Yu: Shanghai Normal University
Ertao Wang: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature, 2021, vol. 589, issue 7843, 586-590

Abstract: Abstract Legumes, unlike other plants, have the ability to establish symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. It has been theorized that a unique property of legume root cortical cells enabled the initial establishment of rhizobial symbiosis1–3. Here we show that a SHORTROOT–SCARECROW (SHR–SCR) stem cell program in cortical cells of the legume Medicago truncatula specifies their distinct fate. Regulatory elements drive the cortical expression of SCR, and stele-expressed SHR protein accumulates in cortical cells of M. truncatula but not Arabidopsis thaliana. The cortical SHR–SCR network is conserved across legume species, responds to rhizobial signals, and initiates legume-specific cortical cell division for de novo nodule organogenesis and accommodation of rhizobia. Ectopic activation of SHR and SCR in legumes is sufficient to induce root cortical cell division. Our work suggests that acquisition of the cortical SHR–SCR module enabled cell division coupled to rhizobial infection in legumes. We propose that this event was central to the evolution of rhizobial endosymbiosis.

Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-3016-z Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:589:y:2021:i:7843:d:10.1038_s41586-020-3016-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-3016-z

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().