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Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Transforming, Genome Editing and Phenotyping the Nitrogen-fixing Tropical Cannabaceae Tree Parasponia andersonii
Published on: August 18, 2019
Innovations in two genes kickstarted the evolution of nitrogen-fixing nodules
1Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Plant Science Group, Wageningen University Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
The root nodule symbiosis between plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria is a fascinating trait limited to several plant species. Given the agronomic potential of transferring this symbiosis to nonleguminous crops, the symbiosis has attracted researchers' attention for over a century. The origins of this symbiosis can be traced back to a single ancestor, around 110 million years ago. Recent findings have uncovered that adaptations in a receptor complex and the recruitment of the transcription factor Nodule Inception (NIN) are among the first genetic adaptations that allowed this ancestor to respond to its microsymbiont. Understanding the consequences of recruiting these genes provides insights into the start of this complex genetic trait.
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