scholarly journals Glutamine Synthetase Is a Molecular Target of Nitric Oxide in Root Nodules of Medicago truncatula and Is Regulated by Tyrosine Nitration

2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (3) ◽  
pp. 1505-1517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula M. Melo ◽  
Liliana S. Silva ◽  
Isa Ribeiro ◽  
Ana R. Seabra ◽  
Helena G. Carvalho

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 976-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana R. Seabra ◽  
Patrícia A. Pereira ◽  
Jörg D. Becker ◽  
Helena G. Carvalho

Glutamine synthetase (GS) is a vital enzyme for the assimilation of ammonia into amino acids in higher plants. In legumes, GS plays a crucial role in the assimilation of the ammonium released by nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules, constituting an important metabolic knob controlling the nitrogen (N) assimilatory pathways. To identify new regulators of nodule metabolism, we profiled the transcriptome of Medicago truncatula nodules impaired in N assimilation by specifically inhibiting GS activity using phosphinothricin (PPT). Global transcript expression of nodules collected before and after PPT addition (4, 8, and 24 h) was assessed using Affymetrix M. truncatula GeneChip arrays. Hundreds of genes were regulated at the three time points, illustrating the dramatic alterations in cell metabolism that are imposed on the nodules upon GS inhibition. The data indicate that GS inhibition triggers a fast plant defense response, induces premature nodule senescence, and promotes loss of root nodule identity. Consecutive metabolic changes were identified at the three time points analyzed. The results point to a fast repression of asparagine synthesis and of the glycolytic pathway and to the synthesis of glutamate via reactions alternative to the GS/GOGAT cycle. Several genes potentially involved in the molecular surveillance for internal organic N availability are identified and a number of transporters potentially important for nodule functioning are pinpointed. The data provided by this study contributes to the mapping of regulatory and metabolic networks involved in root nodule functioning and highlight candidate modulators for functional analysis.



2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 1353-1363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Blanquet ◽  
Liliana Silva ◽  
Olivier Catrice ◽  
Claude Bruand ◽  
Helena Carvalho ◽  
...  

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in various plant-microbe interactions. In the symbiosis between soil bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti and model legume Medicago truncatula, NO is required for an optimal establishment of the interaction but is also a signal for nodule senescence. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms responsible for NO effects in the legume-rhizobium interaction. Here, we investigate the contribution of the bacterial NO response to the modulation of a plant protein post-translational modification in nitrogen-fixing nodules. We made use of different bacterial mutants to finely modulate NO levels inside M. truncatula root nodules and to examine the consequence on tyrosine nitration of the plant glutamine synthetase, a protein responsible for assimilation of the ammonia released by nitrogen fixation. Our results reveal that S. meliloti possesses several proteins that limit inactivation of plant enzyme activity via NO-mediated post-translational modifications. This is the first demonstration that rhizobia can impact the course of nitrogen fixation by modulating the activity of a plant protein.



2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedikt Frieg ◽  
Boris Görg ◽  
Holger Gohlke ◽  
Dieter Häussinger

Abstract Glutamine synthetase (GS) in the liver is expressed in a small perivenous, highly specialized hepatocyte population and is essential for the maintenance of low, non-toxic ammonia levels in the organism. However, GS activity can be impaired by tyrosine nitration of the enzyme in response to oxidative/nitrosative stress in a pH-sensitive way. The underlying molecular mechanism as investigated by combined molecular simulations and in vitro experiments indicates that tyrosine nitration can lead to a fully reversible and pH-sensitive regulation of protein function. This approach was also used to understand the functional consequences of several recently described point mutations of human GS with clinical relevance and to suggest an approach to restore impaired GS activity.



2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 781-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Ferrarini ◽  
Matteo De Stefano ◽  
Emmanuel Baudouin ◽  
Chiara Pucciariello ◽  
Annalisa Polverari ◽  
...  

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in diverse physiological processes in plants, including growth, development, response to pathogens, and interactions with beneficial microorganisms. In this work, a dedicated microarray representing the widest database available of NO-related transcripts in plants has been produced with 999 genes identified by a cDNA amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis as modulated in Medicago truncatula roots treated with two NO donors. The microarray then was used to monitor the expression of NO-responsive genes in M. truncatula during the incompatible interaction with the foliar pathogen Colletotrichum trifolii race 1 and during the symbiotic interaction with Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021. A wide modulation of NO-related genes has been detected during the hypersensitive reaction or during nodule formation and is discussed with special emphasis on the physiological relevance of these genes in the context of the two biotic interactions. This work clearly shows that NO-responsive genes behave differently depending on the plant organ and on the type of interaction, strengthening the need to consider regulatory networks, including different signaling molecules.



2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mummedy Swamy ◽  
Wan Roslina Wan Yusof ◽  
K. N. S. Sirajudeen ◽  
Zulkarnain Mustapha ◽  
Chandran Govindasamy


Author(s):  
Mannix Burns ◽  
Brendan Epstein ◽  
Liana Burghardt

Leguminous plants form symbiotic relationships with rhizobia. These nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in specialized root organs called nodules. While rhizobia form the most notable host relationship within root nodules, other bacterial endophytes also inhabit these root nodules and can influence host-rhizobia interactions as well as exert effects of their own, whether beneficial or detrimental. In this study, we investigate differences in nodule communities between genotypes (A17 and R108) of a single plant species, the model legume Medicago truncatula. While diversity of endophytes in nodules was similar across hosts, both nodule endophyte composition and gene functional groups differed. In contrast to the significant direct effect of host genotype, neither the presence nor identity of a host in the previous generation (either A17 or R108) had a significant effect on the nodule endophyte diversity or composition. However, whether or not a host was present altered gene functional groups. We conclude that genetic variation within a legume host species can play an important role in the establishment of nodule microbiomes. Further studies, including GWAS and functional assays, can open the door for engineering and optimizing nodule endophyte communities that promote growth or have other beneficial qualities.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document