Recent Posts

Comparative phylotranscriptomics reveals ancestral and derived root nodule symbiosis programs

There are about ~17,500 plants species that can participate in nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbioses. The majority of these (~17,300) are in the order Fabales, which includes the legumes. The remainder fall into three orders (Rosales, Fagales, and Cucubitales), leading to the question of whether this…

MtNRT2.1 controls root nodule formation in response to the ambient nitrate concentration

Luo et al. investigate how nitrate transporters direct root nodule formation in a legume. By Zhenpeng Luo & Fang Xie CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.  Background: Nitrogen…

How do legumes decide where to get nitrogen––from the soil or from nitrogen-fixing bacteria?

Misawa, Ito, et al. explore how nitrate transporters and NIN-like protein transcription factors repress nodulation in the presence of exogenous nitrate. Momoyo Ito, Takuya Suzaki Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan  Background Through…

Too much of a good thing - nitrate inhibition of nodulation

Nishida, Nosaki, et al. explore how nitrate inhibits nodulation through transcription factors. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab103  Hanna Nishidaa, Shohei Nosakia,b,c, Takuya Suzakia,c aFaculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan bGraduate…