Nostoc Talks Back: Temporal Patterns of Differential Gene Expression During Establishment of Anthoceros-Nostoc Symbiosis

Endosymbiotic associations between hornworts and nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria form when the plant is limited for combined nitrogen (N). We generated RNA-seq data to examine temporal gene expression patterns during the culturing of N-starved Anthoceros punctatus in the absence and the presence of sy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular plant-microbe interactions 2022-10, Vol.35 (10), p.917-932
Main Authors: Chatterjee, Poulami, Schafran, Peter, Li, Fay-Wei, Meeks, John C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonium
Chlorophyll
Cyanobacteria
cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme
Fluorescence
Gametophytes
Gene expression
hornwort Anthoceros punctatus
Nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation
nitrogen starvation
Nitrogenation
Nostoc
Photosynthesis
RNA-seq
Symbiosis
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Summary:Endosymbiotic associations between hornworts and nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria form when the plant is limited for combined nitrogen (N). We generated RNA-seq data to examine temporal gene expression patterns during the culturing of N-starved Anthoceros punctatus in the absence and the presence of symbiotic cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme. In symbiont-free A.  punctatus gametophytes, N starvation caused downregulation of chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics as well as transcription of photosynthesis-related genes. This downregulation was reversed in A. punctatus cocultured with N. punctiforme, corresponding to the provision by the symbiont of N 2 -derived NH 4 + , which commenced within 5 days of coculture and reached a maximum by 14 days. We also observed transient increases in transcription of ammonium and nitrate transporters in a N. punctiforme–dependent manner as well as that of a SWEET transporter that was initially independent of N 2 -derived NH 4 + . The temporal patterns of differential gene expression indicated that N. punctiforme transmits signals that impact gene expression to A. punctatus both prior to and after its provision of fixed N. This study is the first illustrating the temporal patterns of gene expression during establishment of an endosymbiotic nitrogen-fixing association in this monophyletic evolutionary lineage of land plants. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .
ISSN:0894-0282
1943-7706
DOI:10.1094/MPMI-05-22-0101-R