Fungal CFEM effectors negatively regulate a maize wall-associated kinase by interacting with its alternatively spliced variant to dampen resistance.

The fungus Fusarium graminearum causes a devastating disease Gibberella stalk rot of maize. Our knowledge of molecular interactions between F. graminearum effectors and maize immunity factors is lacking.

A cytoplasmic Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase SOD1 contributes to hyphal growth and virulence of Fusarium graminearum.

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) are scavengers of superoxide radicals, one of the main reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cell. SOD-based ROS scavenging system constitutes the frontline defense against intra- and extracellular ROS, but the roles of SODs in the important cereal pathogen Fusarium graminearum are not very clear. There are five SOD genes in F.

The small GTPase ROP10 of Medicago truncatula is required for both tip growth of root hairs and nod factor-induced root hair deformation.

Rhizobia preferentially enter legume root hairs via infection threads, after which root hairs undergo tip swelling, branching, and curling. However, the mechanisms underlying such root hair deformation are poorly understood. Here, we showed that a type II small GTPase, ROP10, of Medicago truncatula is localized at the plasma membrane (PM) of root hair tips to regulate root hair tip growth.

Identification of a TRAP transporter for malonate transport and its expression regulated by GtrA from Sinorhizobium meliloti.

Sinorhizobium meliloti can live as a saprophyte in soil or as a nitrogen-fixing symbiont inside the root nodule cells of alfalfa and related legumes by utilizing different organic compounds as its carbon source. Here we have identified the matPQMAB operon in S. meliloti 1021.

Characterization and expression analysis of Medicago truncatula ROP GTPase family during the early stage of symbiosis.

ROPs (Rho-related GTPases of plants) are small GTPases that are plant-specific signaling proteins. They act as molecular switches in a variety of developmental processes. In this study, seven cDNA clones coding for ROP GTPases have been isolated in Medicago truncatula, and conserved and divergent domains are identified in these predicted MtROP proteins.

Maturation of the nodule-specific transcript MsHSF1c in Medicago sativa may involve interallelic trans-splicing.

In nonplant species, many heat-shock transcription factors (HSFs) undergo spatiotemporal-specific alternative splicing. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal-specific splicing of HSFs in plants. Previously, we reported that the alfalfa HSF gene MsHSF1 undergoes multiple alternative splicing events in various tissues.

The GntR-type regulators gtrA and gtrB affect cell growth and nodulation of Sinorhizobium meliloti.

GntR-type transcriptional regulators are involved in the regulation of various biological processes in bacteria, but little is known about their functions in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Here, we identified two GntR-type transcriptional regulator genes, gtrA and gtrB, from S. meliloti strain 1021.

Structure and alternative splicing of a heat shock transcription factor gene, MsHSF1, in Medicago sativa.

Plant heat shock transcription factors (HSF) are highly complex. In this study, we identified an alfalfa HSF gene MsHSF1 that is composed of four exons and three introns in the encoding region. The intron1-exon2-intron2-exon3-intron3 as an intervening sequence was inserted at the conserved position that separates the coding region for the DNA-binding domain by single intron in other known plant HSF genes.