FSBSI ARRIAM
Federal State Budget Scientific Institution
All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology
All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology
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A pea sym31 mutant is unable to initiate the differentiation of root nodule bacteria into a symbiotic form called bacteroids. As a consequence, the nodules of this mutant are underdeveloped and do not fix nitrogen. Despite the fact that the mutant was identified more than 30 years ago, the sequence of the Sym31 gene has not yet been identified, and orthologs of this gene are unknown in model legumes (Lotus japonicus and Medicago truncatula). In this work, we plan to analyze the data already obtained from genomic sequencing of the mutant line for the sym31 gene and the parental genotype in order to find a nucleotide substitution leading to the mutant phenotype. Further work will include a complementation test using hairy root transformation, as well as a detailed phenotypic characterization of the mutant using confocal and electron microscopy. In addition, transcriptome profiles of mutant nodules will be analyzed in comparison with wild-type nodules to identify the molecular function of the Sym31 gene. The results of this work will enrich fundamental knowledge about the molecular mechanisms controlling nitrogen-fixing symbiosis in legumes.
Scientific supervisor: Dr. V.A. Zhukov.
