Disease relevance of enod40-1

• Microscopic observation of the infection process using lacZ-labeled M. loti, together with expression analysis of infection-related nodulin genes, demonstrated that ENOD40 knock-down did not inhibit the initiation of the bacterial infection process [1].
• ENOD40 is one of the most intriguing early nodulin genes that is known to be induced very early in response to interaction of legume plants with symbiotic Rhizobium bacteria, but its function in the nodulation process is still not known [1].

High impact information on enod40-1

• In addition to pointing to a difference in the regulation of the two nodulin genes Enod40 and Nin during early time points of symbiosis, the bioassays revealed a difference in the response to the synthetic cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) between alfalfa and clover and L. japonicus [2].
• In legume symbioses, bacterial signal factors induce the expression of ENOD40 genes [3].
• In situ hybridization studies revealed that, in mature nodules, transcripts of both ENOD40 genes accumulate in the nodule vascular system; additionally, in young seed pods strong signal is observed in the ovule, particularly in the phloem and epithelium, as well as in globular stage embryos [4].
• These results clearly indicate that ENOD40 is required for nodule initiation and subsequent organogenesis, but is not involved in early infection events [1].
• Analysis of nodulin gene expression revealed that the expression of an early nodulin gene, ENOD40, was very low in alb1 nodules [5].

Biological context of enod40-1

• The ENOD40 expression pattern in alb1 nodules is distinct from that in another ineffective mutant, fen1 (Ljsym76), in which ENOD40 expression persists prior to premature senescence [5].

Associations of enod40-1 with chemical compounds

• In alfalfa and clover, Enod40 expression was induced upon BAP treatment, whereas this seems not to be the case in L. japonicus; these results correlate with effects at the cellular level because BAP can induce pseudonodules in alfalfa and clover but not in L. japonicus [2].

References