Sinorhizobium meliloti nifA mutant induces different gene expression profile from wild type in Alfalfa nodules
Zi Ying Gong1, Zhi Shui He, Jia Bi Zhu
1National Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
Abstract:
Several studies have demonstrated that the Rhizobium nifA gene is an activator of nitrogen fixation acting in nodule bacteria. To understand the effects of the Sinorhizobium meliloti nifA gene on Alfalfa, the cDNA-AFLP technique was employed to study the changes in gene expression in nifA mutant nodules. Among the approximately 3,000 transcript-derived fragments, 37 had differential expression levels. These expression levels were subsequently confirmed by reverse Northern blot and RT-polymerase chain reaction. Sequence analyses revealed that 21 cDNA fragments corresponded to genes involved in signal communication, protein degradation, nutrient metabolism, cell growth and development.
