The receptor-like kinase ARK controls symbiotic balance across land plants.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39012828.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2318982121 and PMC identifier 11287157.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis arose in land plants more than 450 million years ago and is still widely found in all major land plant lineages. Despite its broad taxonomic distribution, little is known about the molecular components underpinning symbiosis outside of flowering plants. The ARBUSCULAR RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE (ARK) is required for sustaining AM symbiosis in distantly related angiosperms. Here, we demonstrate that ARK has an equivalent role in symbiosis maintenance in the bryophyte <i>Marchantia paleacea</i> and is part of a broad AM genetic program conserved among land plants. In addition, our comparative transcriptome analysis identified evolutionarily conserved expression patterns for several genes in the core symbiotic program required for presymbiotic signaling, intracellular colonization, and nutrient exchange. This study provides insights into the molecular pathways that consistently associate with AM symbiosis across land plants and identifies an ancestral role for <i>ARK</i> in governing symbiotic balance.
Medical subject headings
- Symbiosis
- Mycorrhizae
- Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
- Embryophyta
- Plant Proteins