A first glimpse at genes important to the Azolla–Nostoc symbiosis
Abstract
© 2019, Springer Nature B.V. Azolla is a small genus of diminutive aquatic ferns with
a surprisingly vast potential to benefit the environment and agriculture, as well
as to provide insight into the evolution of plant-cyanobacterial symbioses. This capability
is derived from the unique relationship Azolla spp. have with their obligate, nitrogen-fixing
cyanobacterial symbiont, Nostoc azollae, that resides in their leaves. Although previous
work has specified the importance of the exchange of ammonium and sucrose metabolites
between these two partners, we have yet to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms
that make this symbiosis so successful. The newly sequenced and annotated reference
genome of Azolla filiculoides has allowed us to investigate gene expression profiles
of A. filiculoides—both with and without its obligate cyanobiont, N. azollae—revealing
genes potentially essential to the Azolla-Nostoc symbiosis. We observed the absence
of differentially expressed glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate synthase (GOGAT)
genes, leading to questions about how A. filiculoides regulates the machinery it uses
for nitrogen assimilation. Ushering A. filiculoides into the era of transcriptomics
sets the stage to truly begin to understand the uniqueness of the Azolla-Nostoc symbiosis.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18173Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s13199-019-00599-2Publication Info
Eily, AN; Pryer, KM; & Li, F (2019). A first glimpse at genes important to the Azolla–Nostoc symbiosis. Symbiosis. 10.1007/s13199-019-00599-2. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18173.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Ariana Eily
Postdoctoral Associate
Ariana Eily is a postdoctoral associate in Science and Society, focusing on science
communication. She is interested in the intersection between art and science, or STEAM,
and in developing ways science can be more deeply connected to society. This includes
leading an interdisciplinary team exploring STEAM initiatives at Duke, using improv
to help scientists become better communicators, creating courses to expand our thinking
about how science and society interact, and establishing a science-art
Kathleen M. Pryer
Professor of Biology
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