Dual requirement of the LjSym4 gene for mycorrhizal development in epidermal and cortical cells of Lotus japonicus roots

Mara Novero, Antonella Faccio, Andrea Genre, Jens Stougaard, K. Judith Webb, Lonneke Mulder, Martin Parniske, Paola Bonfante

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The LjSym4 mutation leads to Lotus japonicus plants that are defective in arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) development.

Two alleles of LjSym4 with different phenotypic strength are compared here. The development of AM was assessed by considering five parameters related to fungal structures present in root segments from wild-type and mutant plants. The distribution of intercellular hyphae was determined using semithin sections from resin-embedded roots. Cellular interactions were investigated ultrastructurally, whereas cell wall components from the host plant were identified using immunogold labeling.

In roots of Ljsym4-1 mutant, fungal hyphae were mostly restricted to the intercellular spaces of the cortex, indicating a block to infection by mutant cortical cells, which resulted in a very low number of arbuscules.

This observation suggests the presence of an additional, genetically defined ‘checkpoint’ for mycorrhizal development, located at the wall of cortical cells. The LjSym4 gene is therefore required for infection of both epidermal and cortical cells by AM fungi.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)741-749
Number of pages9
JournalNew Phytologist
Volume154
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 02 Jun 2002

Keywords

  • colonization process
  • mycorrhizal quantification
  • fungal viability
  • cortical block

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