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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

A Hydroponic Co-cultivation System for Simultaneous and Systematic Analysis of Plant/Microbe Molecular Interactions and Signaling
Published on: July 22, 2017
Cytokinin: secret agent of symbiosis
Florian Frugier1, Sonja Kosuta, Jeremy D Murray
1Institut des Sciences du Végétal, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 91198 Gif sur Yvette cedex, France.
Abstract:
The symbiotic interaction between Rhizobium bacteria and legumes leads to the induction of a new root organ: the nitrogen-fixing nodule. Recent findings have uncovered that cytokinin is instrumental in this developmental process, but they also suggest a broader role for cytokinin in mediating rhizobial infection. In this opinion article, we propose that cytokinin is the key differentiation signal for nodule organogenesis. Furthermore, we discuss a model in which cytokinin might also influence bacterial infection by controlling the expression of NIN (Nodule Inception) and other transcriptional regulators through mechanisms operating both locally and systemically.
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