fHANT-AC genes of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor are not repressed by l-glutamine allowing simultaneous utilization of nitrate and organic nitrogen sources.

In boreal and temperate forest ectomycorrhizal fungi play a crucial role in nitrogen cycling by assimilating nitrogenous compounds from soil and transferring them to tree hosts. The expression profile of fHANT-AC genes, nitrate transporter (Lbnrt), nitrate reductase (Lbnr) and nitrite reductase (Lbnir), responsible for nitrate utilization in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor, was studied on variable N regimens. The three genes were shown to be under a common regulation: repressed in the presence of ammonium while growth on nitrate resulted in high transcripts accumulation.