Journal
PLANT AND SOIL
Volume 244, Issue 1-2, Pages 129-139Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1023/A:1020249932310
Keywords
arbuscular mycorrhiza; development; gene regulation; Glomus mosseae; hedgehog proteins
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The life cycle of the obligate biotrophic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi comprises several well-defined developmental stages whose genetic determinants are still unknown. With the aim of understanding the molecular processes governing the early developmental phase of the AM fungal life cycle, a subtractive cDNA library was constructed using a suppressive subtractive hybridization technique. The library contains more than 600 clones with an average size of 500 bp. The isolated cDNAs correspond to genes up-regulated during the early development of the AM fungus Glomus mosseae versus genes expressed in extraradical hyphae. The expression of several of the isolated genes was further confirmed by RT-PCR analysis. Among the isolated clones, a novel gene named GmGIN1 only expressed during early development in G. mosseae was found. The full-length GmGIN1 cDNA codes for a protein of 429 amino acids. The most interesting feature of the deduced protein is its two-domain structure with a putative self-splicing activity. The N-terminal domain shares sequence similarity with a novel family of GTP binding proteins while the C-terminus has a striking homology to the C-terminal part of the hedgehog protein family from metazoa. The C-terminal part of hedgehog proteins is known to participate in the covalent modification of the N-terminus by cholesterol, and in the self-splicing activity which renders the active form of the protein with signalling function. We speculate that the N-terminal part of GmGIN1, activated through a similar mechanism to the hedgehog proteins, has GTP-binding activity and participates in the signalling events prior to symbiosis formation.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available