Cultivos Tropicales Vol. 43, No. 2, abril-junio 2022, ISSN: 1819-4087
Código QR
Cu-ID: https://cu-id.com/2050/v43n2e13
Reseña

Micorrizas y rhizobios: un diálogo molecular con el huésped vegetal

 

iDAndrés Zúñiga-Orozco1Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Estatal a Distancia. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.*✉:azunigao@uned.ac.cr

iDAyerin Carrodeguas-Gonzalez2Instituto de Investigaciones Hortícolas Lilliana Dimitrova, Mayabeque, Cuba.

iDLaura Yesenia Solís-Ramos3Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.


1Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Estatal a Distancia. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.

2Instituto de Investigaciones Hortícolas Lilliana Dimitrova, Mayabeque, Cuba.

3Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.

 

*Autor para correspondencia: azunigao@uned.ac.cr

Resumen

Los rhizobios (Rhs) y los hongos micorrízicos arbusculares (HMA) son microsimbiontes edáficos que se encuentran asociados a raíces de cultivos. Para los Rhs la mayoría de ellos son leguminosas y para los HMA hay un rango de hospedantes más amplio; sin embargo, hay cultivos que desarrollan la colonización por parte de ambos simbiontes. En cualquiera de las relaciones simbióticas, los beneficios que reciben los cultivos al ser colonizados por estos microorganismos son variados y contribuyen al empleo de alternativas para la agricultura sostenible. El mecanismo por el cual ambos simbiontes penetran en su huésped vegetal ha sido estudiado a nivel molecular y se han identificado genes comunes, así como las vías en las que intervienen. Algunos de estos genes se relacionan con la recepción de la señal mediada por los factores Nod, en el caso de los Rhs y por los factores Myc, en el caso de los HMA, otros están relacionados con el mecanismo de penetración y finalmente con la ruta por la cual se comunican el simbionte y la planta. En la presente revisión se realiza un listado de estudios referentes a los microsimbiontes, a nivel de pre-colonización, colonización y mecanismo compartido. Se presenta una propuesta de posibles genes candidatos comunes para Rhs y HMA para aplicar ingeniería genética, de tal forma que se explora un campo de investigación que se denomina: optimización de genes. Por la similitud por la cual estos simbiontes penetran en su huésped y por el potencial de modificación genética que esto supone, se describe una estrecha relación molecular, metabólica y fisiológica.

Palabras clave: 
rhizobio micorrizas arbusculares, ingeniería genética, simbiosis, genes

Recibido: 12/3/2021; Aceptado: 09/8/2021

CONTENIDO

Introducción

 

La creación de bioeconomías sustentables enmarcadas en el concepto de economía circular, demanda la optimización de recursos biológicos para mejorar la productividad agrícola. Los hallazgos encontrados durante los últimos 30 años, en cuanto a la simbiosis, el uso de hongos micorrízicos arbusculares (HMA) y rhizobios (Rhs), ha sido de gran interés por el impacto que tienen en la agricultura (11. Gruber N, Galloway JN. An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature [Internet]. 2008;451(7176):293-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06592 -33. Foyer CH, Lam H-M, Nguyen HT, Siddique KH, Varshney RK, Colmer TD, et al. Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production. Nature plants [Internet]. 2016;2(8):1-10. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nplants2016112 ).

La simbiosis es la relación mutualista estrecha entre dos organismos, que tiene un efecto benéfico en la adaptación, ecología y evolución para ambas partes (44. Wade MJ. The co-evolutionary genetics of ecological communities. Nature Reviews Genetics [Internet]. 2007;8(3):185-95. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg2031 -66. Kiers ET, West SA. Evolving new organisms via symbiosis. Science [Internet]. 2015;348(6233):392-4. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aaa9605 ). Entre las relaciones simbióticas mutualistas más interesantes se encuentran las que se establecen entre hongos, bacterias y células vegetales (77. McFall-Ngai M, Hadfield MG, Bosch TC, Carey HV, Domazet-Lošo T, Douglas AE, et al. Animals in a bacterial world, a new imperative for the life sciences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2013;110(9):3229-36. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/110/9/3229.short ). Los HMA y Rhs se originaron aproximadamente hace 400 y 100 millones de años respectivamente (88. Simon L, Bousquet J, Lévesque RC, Lalonde M. Origin and diversification of endomycorrhizal fungi and coincidence with vascular land plants. Nature [Internet]. 1993;363(6424):67-9. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/363067a0 -1212. Kennedy AC, de Luna LZ. RHIZOSPHERE. In: Hillel D, editor. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment [Internet]. Oxford: Elsevier; 2005 [cited 26/11/2021]. p. 399-406. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123485304001636 ).

Los HMA pertenecen al phyla Glomeromycota y son organismos que colonizan entre el 70-90 % de las especies vegetales, algunos autores mencionan que colonizan todas las gimnospermas, 83% de dicotiledóneas y 79 % de monocotiledóneas (1212. Kennedy AC, de Luna LZ. RHIZOSPHERE. In: Hillel D, editor. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment [Internet]. Oxford: Elsevier; 2005 [cited 26/11/2021]. p. 399-406. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123485304001636 ,1313. SCHÜßLER A, Schwarzott D, Walker C. A new fungal phylum, the Glomeromycota: phylogeny and evolution. Mycological research [Internet]. 2001;105(12):1413-21. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mycological-research/article/abs/new-fungal-phylum-theglomeromycota-phylogeny-and-evolution/6A4E3EB5D8D502B5571F591F5B705C47 ); mientras los Rhs son más restringidas al clado FaFaCuRo (Fabales, Fagales, Cucurbitales y Rosales) (1414. Kistner C, Parniske M. Evolution of signal transduction in intracellular symbiosis. Trends in plant science [Internet]. 2002;7(11):511-8. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1360138502023567 -1616. Parniske M. Arbuscular mycorrhiza: the mother of plant root endosymbioses. Nature Reviews Microbiology [Internet]. 2008;6(10):763-75. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro1987 ).

Los HMA han recibido especial atención desde el punto de vista agrícola por los beneficios que proveen para las plantas; tales como, mayor resistencia a estreses bióticos y abióticos, aumento en la superficie de absorción de agua y nutrientes (1111. Lum MR, Hirsch AM. Roots and their symbiotic microbes: strategies to obtain nitrogen and phosphorus in a nutrient-limiting environment. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation [Internet]. 2002;21(4):368-82. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/50695661/Roots_and_Their_Symbiotic_Microbes_Strat20161203-18979-zmsc1o.pdf?1480786248=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DRoots_and_their_symbiotic_microbes_strat.pdf&Expires=1637980035&Signature=CLS84WGYgwkPInm3BQHfvQcxuywR35uX-15tbKWTGDWhvTiOOJrRWuRGP1M6AhDYl2pcH5beB7wk3ZL3h3Bqlq5W5phQyTb5qUqYGs7c8w~a3ZgGzYNS8ZQcFTrFA0MjAZItmdG-AsX6a3dcCrEJXkDIyC6AbkWREc8h7Ekhwb4zJ12R4w2gshuoVmXm7NbeVCkcBK7juNRbTFff-gApnUfrPvYxydDq9c8rng9DKr8S3tynVW9d5EW~X1x~RB7hVM83kwAfrc9Tx0zWoJzt8ardCPY6E7YVMMU1QOPvbe1gCCNwImedD5azzJt0YNMjdNRnsZd7jGcaZ~iBsQ__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA ,1515. Vessey JK, Pawlowski K, Bergman B. Root-based N2-fixing symbioses: legumes, actinorhizal plants, Parasponia sp. and cycads. Plant and soil [Internet]. 2005;274(1):51-78. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-005-5881-5 ), así como su uso en la bioremediación (1717. Solís-Ramos LY, Coto-López C, Andrade-Torres A. Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in remediation of anthropogenic soil pollution. Symbiosis [Internet]. 2021;1-16. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/351356453_Role_of_arbuscular_mycorrhizal_symbiosis_in_remediation_of_anthropogenic_soil_pollution/links/6102c0bd0c2bfa282a0d4330/Role-of-arbuscular-mycorrhizalsymbiosis-in-remediation-of-anthropogenic-soil-pollution.pdf ), entre otros. Por su parte, los rhizobios también son muy importantes por la habilidad de fijar nitrógeno atmosférico, incluso hay estudios que mencionan que podrían fijar la cantidad anual producida de amonio sintético (11. Gruber N, Galloway JN. An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature [Internet]. 2008;451(7176):293-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06592 ,1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ).

En la actualidad, se ha promovido el uso natural de la simbiosis de bacterias fijadoras de nitrógeno en plantas leguminosas para disminuir la cantidad de nitrógeno aplicado a través de fertilizantes químicos, los cuales, pueden ocasionar eutroficación y disminuir la diversidad de microrganismos del suelo (33. Foyer CH, Lam H-M, Nguyen HT, Siddique KH, Varshney RK, Colmer TD, et al. Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production. Nature plants [Internet]. 2016;2(8):1-10. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nplants2016112 ,1919. Matson PA, Parton WJ, Power AG, Swift MJ. Agricultural intensification and ecosystem properties. Science [Internet]. 1997;277(5325):504-9. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.277.5325.504 ).

Los HMA penetran en el hospedante por el córtex del parénquima de las raíces más finas y en el interior de las células forman estructuras ramificadas llamadas arbúsculos (2020. Bonfante P, Genre A. Mechanisms underlying beneficial plant-fungus interactions in mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature communications [Internet]. 2010;1(1):1-11. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1046?fbclid=IwAR1g7_DQ5BfH6DKqDAuMLO0CIqwsSMMgkEUVRMWED7EVdhpQcloMbKDEMfs ); mientras que los Rhs, penetran su hospedero a través de los pelos radiculares, realizan un plegamiento de los mismos hasta que se forma un tubo de infección en el que se desarrolla, en el extremo interno, el simbiosoma (2121. Li X, Feng H, Wen J, Dong J, Wang T. MtCAS31 aids symbiotic nitrogen fixation by protecting the leghemoglobin MtLb120-1 under drought stress in Medicago truncatula. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2018;9:633. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00633/full ,2222. Kim G-B, Son S-U, Yu H-J, Mun J-H. MtGA2ox10 encoding C20-GA2-oxidase regulates rhizobial infection and nodule development in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2019;9(1):1-13. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42407-3 ). Los mecanismos de colonización de HMA y Rhs tienen gran similitud, incluso al grado de activar y desactivar genes comunes. Para su estudio, se han utilizado especies de la familia de las leguminosas, las cuales pueden hospedar ambos microsimbiontes y como resultado acumulan mayor masa seca y tienen mayor superficie radical para la absorción de nutrientes (2323. Sakamoto K, Ogiwara N, Kaji T, Sugimoto Y, Ueno M, Sonoda M, et al. Transcriptome analysis of soybean (Glycine max) root genes differentially expressed in rhizobial, arbuscular mycorrhizal, and dual symbiosis. Journal of plant research [Internet]. 2019;132(4):541-68. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31165947/ ).

Hay evidencia clara de la existencia de un mecanismo compartido en la colonización compartida que induce un tipo de autoregulación entre los microsimbiontes y que ocurre en una constante comunicación con la planta (2424. Sakamoto K, Nohara Y. Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) shoots systemically control arbuscule formation in mycorrhizal symbiosis. Soil science and plant nutrition [Internet]. 2009;55(2):252-7. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1747-0765.2009.00358.x ). Por medio de estudios de la composición de comunidades de microorganismos se ha comprobado que diversos hábitats son capaces de albergar una gran diversidad biológica de HMA y Rhs (2525. Gill AS, Purnell K, Palmer MI, Stein J, McGuire KL. Microbial Composition and Functional Diversity Differ Across Urban Green Infrastructure Types. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2020;11:912. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00912/full ), los cuales tienen aplicaciones en la agricultura. Además, recientemente se ha logrado un gran avance en cuanto a la secuenciación y los perfiles de expresión génica, lo que ha permitido dilucidar aspectos comunes que posee la colonización compartida ente HMA y Rhs (2626. Bozsó Z, Maunoury N, Szatmari A, Mergaert P, Ott PG, Zsíros LR, et al. Transcriptome analysis of a bacterially induced basal and hypersensitive response of Medicago truncatula. Plant molecular biology [Internet]. 2009;70(6):627-46. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/46335421/s11103-009-9496-820160608-1847i5rbjk.pdf?1465381657=&response-contentdisposition=inline%3B+filename%3DTranscriptome_analysis_of_a_bacterially.pdf&Expires=1637981832&Signature=aeoaEBCzv8zj58xJM0o4sYtIYNXTA-ToUh7sY6BR1UBVterlBMLVypqejVHJyV-F-dZ4SpcQHOOgo4bchiNK4k5ZkJiwbrLMHcTqIRYjngcIvYPydWGNnWpG8Fq2J-SgrU6laJ5ySma0kmp4SUYquIxqDRyDgfYuqBW~wLGBhCZcr55SqmAXRsBgbqCohU1Ub1~8f4QeSW6V1IKHLF5-8qsAAVRQp2Zr4io7yZcCYVH2ooRiPGu5v89pn-o0tmZ4VlPnW12JNtONCpn1-nD1qYs9yiUDn~~6-1sk12X7xGkjmFeoQlDGfO4yqOuRsREByVtPtQvoxw4foIkubuA__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA -3030. Barea J-M. Interaction between mycorrhizal fungi and rhizosphere micro-organisms with in the context of sustainable soil-plant systems. Multitrophic interactions in terrestrial systems [Internet]. 1997;65-7. Available from: https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10029653607/ ).

Teniendo en cuenta los criterios escritos anteriormente, este artículo constituye una recopilación de una serie de evidencias científicas que reflejan la similitud del comportamiento en el proceso de colonización que realizan los HMA y los Rhs, ante las señales del huésped vegetal. De esta forma se considera esta recopilación de información un puente para definir nuevas líneas de investigación en ingeniería genética; por lo tanto, contribuir al estado del conocimiento en cuanto a genes candidatos que podrían modificarse a futuro haciendo más eficiente la relación entre a los Rhs y HMA con sus huéspedes vegetales.

El microsimbionte: los rhizobios

 

Las bacterias que forman parte de la microbiota del suelo están incluidas, principalmente, en los siguientes phyla: Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi (Chlorobacteria), Firmicutes y Proteobacteria (3131. Sprent JI, James EK. Legume evolution: where do nodules and mycorrhizas fit in? Plant physiology [Internet]. 2007;144(2):575-81. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/144/2/575/6106716?login=true ,3232. Zgadzaj R, Garrido-Oter R, Jensen DB, Koprivova A, Schulze-Lefert P, Radutoiu S. Root nodule symbiosis in Lotus japonicus drives the establishment of distinctive rhizosphere, root, and nodule bacterial communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2016;113(49):E7996-8005. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/113/49/E7996.short ). Las raíces, al crecer, incorporan depósitos orgánicos (células muertas + compuestos orgánicos) a nivel de la rizosfera, lo cual resulta en una rizodeposición que modifica la estructura y la composición poblacional de las bacterias. Consecuentemente, se reduce la diversidad, principalmente, de los phyla Acidobacterias, Proteobacterias y Actinobacterias (3232. Zgadzaj R, Garrido-Oter R, Jensen DB, Koprivova A, Schulze-Lefert P, Radutoiu S. Root nodule symbiosis in Lotus japonicus drives the establishment of distinctive rhizosphere, root, and nodule bacterial communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2016;113(49):E7996-8005. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/113/49/E7996.short ).

Las bacterias son atraídas hacia su huésped por células de la rizodermis, rizodepósitos y el mucílago que es exudado en el extremo de las raíces. Ese mucílago está compuesto por ácidos orgánicos e inorgánicos, sideróforos, vitaminas, aminoácidos, purinas y nucleósidos, pero especialmente hay unos compuestos en particular: los flavonoides e isoflavonoides, que son los principales encargados de atraer a las bacterias hacia la planta (3333. Ferguson BJ, Indrasumunar A, Hayashi S, Lin M-H, Lin Y-H, Reid DE, et al. Molecular analysis of legume nodule development and autoregulation. Journal of integrative plant biology [Internet]. 2010;52(1):61-76. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.17447909.2010.00899.x ,3434. Sprent JI, Ardley J, James EK. Biogeography of nodulated legumes and their nitrogen‐fixing symbionts. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2017;215(1):40-56. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.14474 ). Los Rhs al percibir la señal comienzan a secretar un lipo-chito-oligosacárido (LCO) mediado por los factores Nod (NF, por sus siglas en inglés) (3535. Dénarié J, Debellé F, Promé J-C. Rhizobium lipo-chitooligosaccharide nodulation factors: signaling molecules mediating recognition and morphogenesis. Annual review of biochemistry [Internet]. 1996;65(1):503-35. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.bi.65.070196.002443 -3737. Persson T, Battenberg K, Demina IV, Vigil-Stenman T, Vanden Heuvel B, Pujic P, et al. Candidatus Frankia datiscae Dg1, the actinobacterial microsymbiont of Datisca glomerata, expresses the canonical nod genes nodABC in symbiosis with its host plant. PloS one [Internet]. 2015;10(5):e0127630. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127630 ). En el caso de los Rhs, el LCO interactúa con las hidrolasas NFH1 y CHIT5 emitidas por el huésped para preparar así el contacto con la membrana celular vegetal (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ).

Por su parte, los Rhs colonizan a la planta, principalmente, por una infección tubular que se forma después de que los pelos radicales se pliegan en forma de bucle, aunque en menor medida, pueden acceder también por heridas, o a través de espacios intercelulares de forma independiente a los factores Nod (3131. Sprent JI, James EK. Legume evolution: where do nodules and mycorrhizas fit in? Plant physiology [Internet]. 2007;144(2):575-81. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/144/2/575/6106716?login=true ).

Por lo tanto, el proceso de colonización de los Rhs en su huésped transcurre por varias etapas progresivas, que van desde la señalización inicial, la restricción del rango del hospedante, la colonización bacteriana, la autoregulación del número de nódulos (AON por sus siglas en inglés), la maduración bacterial, la formación del simbiosoma, el desarrollo del metabolismo del nódulo y el transporte hasta que comienza la fase final de senescencia (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ,3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ).

La correcta comunicación química entre bacteria-huésped depende de los factores Nod y de un acoplamiento adecuado con los receptores de la membrana vegetal. Este proceso es clave para desencadenar la colonización, la cual resulta, posteriormente, en un cambio en el gradiente de calcio en la membrana nuclear de la célula vegetal, lo cual será explicado más adelante.

El microsimbionte: los hongos micorrízicos arbusculares

 

Los HMA son organismos que inician su ciclo de vida a partir de un propágulo que puede ser una espora, un fragmento de hifa o de raíz colonizada. El propágulo germina estimulado por señales derivadas del hospedante potencial, aunque también puede germinar en ausencia de estas. Se produce una hifa de germinación que comienza a crecer en busca de un huésped y al encontrarlo se adhiere a las paredes del córtex de las raíces más finas (secundarias o terciarias) produciendo una estructura de sostén denominada apresorio. Posteriormente, penetra al interior del córtex sin atravesar el cilíndro central y coloniza la planta intracelular y extracelularmente. Al acceder a las células atraviesa la pared celular, no así la membrana plasmática, ocurre una retracción del citoplasma y la hifa comienza a ramificarse para formar los arbúsculos, que son las estructuras de intercambio entre el hongo y su huésped.

En la mayoría de especies de HMA se producen vesículas que son estructuras de reserva (3939. Solís-Ramos LY, Andrade-Torres A. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in tropical ecosystems towards its management? Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal [Internet]. 2020;24(4):152-5. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/343322429_Arbuscular_Mycorrhizal_Fungi_in_Tropical_Ecosystems_Towards_it s_Management_Mini_Review/links/5f22ff91a6fdcccc4399dfc9/Arbuscular-Mycorrhizal-Fungi-inTropical-Ecosystems-Towards-its-Management-Mini-Review.pdf ); sin embargo, las vesículas no están presentes en todas las especies de HMA, algunas como las pertenecientes a la familia Gigasporacea pueden forman en su lugar estructuras denominadas células auxiliares, pero en el micelio externo y se reconoce que tienen similar función a las vesículas.

Los HMA tienen la particularidad de que son simbiontes obligados por lo que requieren un hospedante para completar su ciclo de vida. Cuando encuentran uno, se reproducen aceleradamente e incluso se conoce que comparten varios hospedantes al mismo tiempo a través de una red conectiva de micelio extrarradical, por lo cual su diversidad funcional es alta y le permite tener gran adaptabilidad a diversas condiciones ambientales (4040. Croll D, Giovannetti M, Koch AM, Sbrana C, Ehinger M, Lammers PJ, et al. Nonself vegetative fusion and genetic exchange in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2009;181(4):924-37. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02726.x ,4141. den Bakker HC, VanKuren NW, Morton JB, Pawlowska TE. Clonality and recombination in the life history of an asexual arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus. Molecular Biology and Evolution [Internet]. 2010;27(11):2474-86. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/27/11/2474/1127206?login=true ). El hongo invagina las células corticales internas, donde produce una ramificación extensa convirtiéndose en una estructura que llena enteramente las células corticales (4242. Paszkowski U. A journey through signaling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses 2006. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;172(1):35-46. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01840.x ). En consecuencia, la arquitectura de la célula hospedante cambia: el núcleo se mueve de una posición periférica a una central, la vacuola comienza a fragmentarse y una extensa membrana periarbuscular se sintetiza de forma continua a la membrana plasmática (4343. Harrison MJ. Molecular and cellular aspects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annual review of plant biology [Internet]. 1999;50(1):361-89. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.arplant.50.1.361 ). A pesar de la intensa actividad de ambos simbiontes que permite la formación de arbúsculos en las células, éstos colapsan después de varios días, dejando la célula cortical intacta y lista para hospedar un nuevo arbúsculo (4242. Paszkowski U. A journey through signaling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses 2006. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;172(1):35-46. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01840.x ).

Existen varias situaciones que se presentan en la relación simbionte-planta, una de ellas es cuando el huésped tiene suficiente disponibilidad de nutrientes, en este caso, las vesículas, almacenan estructuras carbonadas como medio de sobrevivencia siendo muy similar en función a los gránulos de polihidroxibutirato que se presentan en los Rhs (4444. Johnson NC, Rowland DL, Corkidi L, Egerton-Warburton LM, Allen EB. Nitrogen enrichment alters mycorrhizal allocation at five mesic to semiarid grasslands. Ecology [Internet]. 2003;84(7):1895-908. Available from: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/00129658(2003)084[1895:NEAMAA]2.0.CO;2 ,4545. Johnson NC. Resource stoichiometry elucidates the structure and function of arbuscular mycorrhizas across scales. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2010;185(3):631-47. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03110.x ). Tal es el caso del fósforo, puesto que la planta inactiva genes transportadores de este elemento cuando se presenta alta disponibilidad de éste nutriente (4646. Maherali H, Klironomos JN. Influence of phylogeny on fungal community assembly and ecosystem functioning. science [Internet]. 2007;316(5832):1746-8. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1143082 ).

Por otra parte, se ha encontrado que los arbúsculos proveen de mayor cantidad de fósforo a los tejidos que le proveen mayor cantidad de carbono. Lo descrito anteriormente indica que puede existir un mecanismo de autoregulación por parte de la planta. Se ha encontrado que moléculas como lisofosfatidilcolina (LPc) podrían ayudar al huésped a percibir la concentración de fósforo en el suelo; sin embargo, se necesita profundizar en nuevas investigaciones al respecto, pues no está bien descrito en comparación a lo que sucede con los Rhs (4747. Denison RF, Kiers ET. Life histories of symbiotic rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi. Current Biology [Internet]. 2011;21(18):R775-85. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211006634 ). Otra de las características menos exploradas de los HMA es que tienen la capacidad de proteger las raíces del huésped de hifas patogénicas, ya que, crecen cerca de 100 veces más rápido que los pelos radiculares, lo que les permite una colonización más rápida del área de la raíz. Tal es el caso de la familia Glomeraceae, cuyas especies han mostrado alta tolerancia a Fusarium sp. y Pythium sp. (4646. Maherali H, Klironomos JN. Influence of phylogeny on fungal community assembly and ecosystem functioning. science [Internet]. 2007;316(5832):1746-8. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1143082 ), también es posible que exista un mecanismo molecular de interacción simbiótica aún inexplorado. Lo anterior se suma a muchos otros estudios enfocados en cuantificar la tolerancia a diversos patógenos como: Alternaria, Fusarium, Phytophthora, Pythium, Rhizoctonia y Verticillium, bacterias como Ralstonia solanacearum y Pseudomonas syringae, nemátodos de los géneros Pratylenchus y Meloidogyne) e incluso insectos como Otiorhynchus sulcatus (4848. Garcia-Garrido JM, Ocampo JA. Effect of VA mycorrhizal infection of tomato on damage caused by Pseudomonas syringae. Soil Biology and Biochemistry [Internet]. 1989;21(1):165-7. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0038071789900278 -5252. Jung SC, Martinez-Medina A, Lopez-Raez JA, Pozo MJ. Mycorrhiza-induced resistance and priming of plant defenses. Journal of chemical ecology [Internet]. 2012;38(6):651-64. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22623151/ ). En cuanto a la colonización de los HMA en su huésped es importante señalar que sus propágulos se ven estimulados por flavonoides e isoflavonoides procedentes de las plantas, al igual que como sucede con los Rhs; sin embargo, los HMA se estimulan también por sesquiterpenos como es el caso de las estrigolactonas, las cuales estimulan la ramificación de las hifas germinantes (5353. Akiyama K, Matsuzaki K, Hayashi H. Plant sesquiterpenes induce hyphal branching in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Nature [Internet]. 2005;435(7043):824-7. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03608 ). Los flavonoides e isoflavonoides secretados por las plantas activan el proceso de germinación y el crecimiento hifal; y por su parte, los HMA comienzan secretan un lipo-chito-oligosacárido (LCO) mediado por los factores Myc (3535. Dénarié J, Debellé F, Promé J-C. Rhizobium lipo-chitooligosaccharide nodulation factors: signaling molecules mediating recognition and morphogenesis. Annual review of biochemistry [Internet]. 1996;65(1):503-35. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.bi.65.070196.002443 -3737. Persson T, Battenberg K, Demina IV, Vigil-Stenman T, Vanden Heuvel B, Pujic P, et al. Candidatus Frankia datiscae Dg1, the actinobacterial microsymbiont of Datisca glomerata, expresses the canonical nod genes nodABC in symbiosis with its host plant. PloS one [Internet]. 2015;10(5):e0127630. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127630 ) y un oligómero de quitina de cadena corta o quitooligosacárido (COS) (5454. Genre A, Chabaud M, Balzergue C, Puech‐Pagès V, Novero M, Rey T, et al. Short‐chain chitin oligomers from arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi trigger nuclear Ca2+ spiking in Medicago truncatula roots and their production is enhanced by strigolactone. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2013;198(1):190-202. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.12146 ).

En respuesta a los factores Myc se ha registrado en las plantas el gen ENOD11 como responsable de codificar proteínas ricas en lisina en la membrana, por lo cual, de cierta forma, las plantas también se preparan para recibir a los HMA (5555. Andriankaja A, Boisson-Dernier A, Frances L, Sauviac L, Jauneau A, Barker DG, et al. AP2-ERF transcription factors mediate Nod factor-dependent Mt ENOD11 activation in root hairs via a novel cis-regulatory motif. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2007;19(9):2866-85. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/19/9/2866/6092340?login=true ). Además, como se profundizará más adelante, el gen ENOD tiene cierta relación con los Rhs.

Otros genes han sido identificados como necesarios para inducir la formación del apresorio de la membrana perihaustorial tal es el caso de los genes DMI2 y DMI3 (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ). De manera similar, se ha encontrado en hongos patógenos (Magnaphorte oryzae y Colletotrichum inemuthianum) un gen ortólogo relacionado con la penetración, denominado STE12 (5656. Heupel S, Roser B, Kuhn H, Lebrun M-H, Villalba F, Requena N. Erl1, a novel era-like GTPase from Magnaporthe oryzae, is required for full root virulence and is conserved in the mutualistic symbiont Glomus intraradices. Molecular plant-microbe interactions [Internet]. 2010;23(1):67-81. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-23-1-0067 ).

Finalmente, se conocen genes vegetales que codifican para transportadores de fósforo (PT3 y PT4), como responsables de asociarse con las hifas, además de un gen llamado Gmar-CuZnSOD que codifica para la superóxido dismutasa, que le brinda a la planta tolerancia a estrés oxidativo (5757. Lanfranco L, Novero M, Bonfante P. The mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora margarita possesses a CuZn superoxide dismutase that is up-regulated during symbiosis with legume hosts. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2005;137(4):1319-30. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/137/4/1319/6112689?login=true ).

El macrosimbionte: el huésped vegetal y el mecanismo de colonización

 

En esta sección se realizará un recuento general de lo descrito para el mecanismo de colonización por Rhs, pues, aunque para los HMA ha sido descrito, aún faltan estudios relacionados con los genes involucrados y su regulación. No obstante, en la siguiente sección, se abordarán las similitudes entre ambas vías de colonización. El papel que juega el huésped vegetal es trascendental en la atracción de Rhs y HMA, así como en la aceptación y en el mantenimiento de los microrganismos, ya que los simbiontes se ven beneficiados por fuentes de carbono producidas por la planta, principalmente sacarosa, hexosas y almidón, en una especie de “comercio mutuo” entre Rhs-HMA-planta (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ,3939. Solís-Ramos LY, Andrade-Torres A. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in tropical ecosystems towards its management? Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal [Internet]. 2020;24(4):152-5. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/343322429_Arbuscular_Mycorrhizal_Fungi_in_Tropical_Ecosystems_Towards_it s_Management_Mini_Review/links/5f22ff91a6fdcccc4399dfc9/Arbuscular-Mycorrhizal-Fungi-inTropical-Ecosystems-Towards-its-Management-Mini-Review.pdf ,4242. Paszkowski U. A journey through signaling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses 2006. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;172(1):35-46. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01840.x ,5858. Ferguson BJ, Mens C, Hastwell AH, Zhang M, Su H, Jones CH, et al. Legume nodulation: The host controls the party. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):41-51. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13348 ).

Primeramente, es importante describir cómo la planta realiza el proceso de atracción de las bacterias, dando paso a la pre-colonización o fase presimbiótica; en este paso están relacionados los genes CHS, CHR, FNS y IFS, que son responsables de producir los flavonoides e isoflavonoides, por parte de la planta (5959. Wasson AP, Pellerone FI, Mathesius U. Silencing the flavonoid pathway in Medicago truncatula inhibits root nodule formation and prevents auxin transport regulation by rhizobia. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2006;18(7):1617-29. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/18/7/1617/6115313?login=true -6161. Subramanian S, Stacey G, Yu O. Endogenous isoflavones are essential for the establishment of symbiosis between soybean and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The Plant Journal [Internet]. 2006;48(2):261-73. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365313X.2006.02874.x ).

Algunos investigadores muestran evidencias de que las isoflavonas genisteína y diadzeína producidas por Glycine max y Phaseolus vulgaris, inducen la activación de los los genes Nod en bacterias simbiontes muy específicas de su especie, como son Bradyrhizobium japonicum y Rhizobium leguminosarum bv phaseoli (6262. Bolaños-Vásquez MC, Werner D. Effects of Rhizobium tropici, R. etli and R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli on nod gene-inducing flavonoids in root exudates of Phaseolus vulgaris. Molecular plantmicrobe interactions [Internet]. 1997;10(3):339-46. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.1997.10.3.339 ). Una vez que la planta percibe los factores Nod en la membrana, se activan genes que inducen la degradación de la pared celular y el plegamiento de los pelos radiculares para que los Rhs se alojen y se forme el tubo de colonización, en este proceso se han identificado los siguientes genes: NPL, FLOT2, FLOT4 y SYMREM1 (6363. Xie F, Murray JD, Kim J, Heckmann AB, Edwards A, Oldroyd GE, et al. Legume pectate lyase required for root infection by rhizobia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2012;109(2):633-8. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/109/2/633.short -6565. Lefebvre B, Timmers T, Mbengue M, Moreau S, Hervé C, Tóth K, et al. A remorin protein interacts with symbiotic receptors and regulates bacterial infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(5):2343-8. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/5/2343.short ).

Posterior al estímulo de los genes Nod y al plegamiento de los pelos radiculares, el huésped vegetal, percibe en los receptores de membrana la señal, estos receptores están codificados por los genes de pares ortólogos LjNFR1/MtLYK3 y LjNFR5/MtNFP, los cuales son receptores quinasas con tres dominios extracelulares de lisina (LysM) en el que forman un complejo homo y heteromérico entre la membrana celular y la de colonización (6666. Haney CH, Riely BK, Tricoli DM, Cook DR, Ehrhardt DW, Long SR. Symbiotic rhizobia bacteria trigger a change in localization and dynamics of the Medicago truncatula receptor kinase LYK3. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2011;23(7):2774-87. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/23/7/2774/6097218?login=true -6868. Moling S, Pietraszewska-Bogiel A, Postma M, Fedorova E, Hink MA, Limpens E, et al. Nod factor receptors form heteromeric complexes and are essential for intracellular infection in Medicago nodules. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2014;26(10):4188-99. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/26/10/4188/6101576?login=true ). De acuerdo a lo anterior, se realiza la comunicación con los factores provenientes de las bacterias, a través del complejo LCO, además de la unión con las hidrolasas NFH1/CHIT5; esa interacción es el punto de entrada para desencadenar en el huésped un complejo de señalización interna, que da comienzo a la infección de los Rhs y en un segundo paso a la organogénesis.

Además, relacionado con la percepción de la señal, se ha registrado que las hormonas vegetales tienen un papel importante, ya que interactúan con los factores Nod y los procesos subsiguientes, tal es el caso de los brasinoesteroides con el gen BRI1 y las estrigolactonas con el gen CCD7, quienes colaboran en la progresión de la colonización por rhizobios, así como citoquininas y auxinas que inician el proceso de organogénesis. Las citoquininas se relacionan directamente con el TF NSP2 y las auxinas con el gen ARF16a, responsable de la regulación positiva en el proceso de colonización (6969. Liu H, Zhang C, Yang J, Yu N, Wang E. Hormone modulation of legume‐rhizobial symbiosis. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology [Internet]. 2018;60(8):632-48. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jipb.12653 -7272. Ariel F, Brault-Hernandez M, Laffont C, Huault E, Brault M, Plet J, et al. Two direct targets of cytokinin signaling regulate symbiotic nodulation in Medicago truncatula. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2012;24(9):3838-52. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/24/9/3838/6100604?login=true ). Otros genes muy importantes y que se ha comprobado que silenciados reducen la colonización y la cantidad de nódulos, son los relacionados con giberelinas, estos genes codifican para las proteínas DELLA y estas proteínas, a su vez, interactúan con los TF IPD3 y NSP2, necesarios para la transcripción de NIN (iniciación del nódulo) (6969. Liu H, Zhang C, Yang J, Yu N, Wang E. Hormone modulation of legume‐rhizobial symbiosis. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology [Internet]. 2018;60(8):632-48. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jipb.12653 ).

Posterior a la recepción de la señal en la membrana vegetal, se induce un gradiente de calcio en la membrana nuclear, lo cual reduce el potencial de ingreso del catión. Se ha registrado que existe afectación en los canales de calcio (LjCASTOR, LjPOLLUX/MtDMI1), MtCNGC a/b/c y su ortólogo LjBRUSH, así también como en nucleoporinas (LjNUP85 y LjNUP133), esto propicia que la quinasa MtDMI3/CCaMK y los factores de transcripción LjCYCLOPS/MtIPD3 regulen la expresión positiva del gen NIN, en conjunto con otros dos factores de transcripción llamados NSP1 y NSP2, encontrados en M. truncatula (2222. Kim G-B, Son S-U, Yu H-J, Mun J-H. MtGA2ox10 encoding C20-GA2-oxidase regulates rhizobial infection and nodule development in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2019;9(1):1-13. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42407-3 ,7373. Charpentier M, Bredemeier R, Wanner G, Takeda N, Schleiff E, Parniske M. Lotus japonicus CASTOR and POLLUX are ion channels essential for perinuclear calcium spiking in legume root endosymbiosis. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2008;20(12):3467-79. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/20/12/3467/6092747?login=true ,7474. Groth M, Takeda N, Perry J, Uchida H, Dräxl S, Brachmann A, et al. NENA, a Lotus japonicus homolog of Sec13, is required for rhizodermal infection by arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi and rhizobia but dispensable for cortical endosymbiotic development. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2010;22(7):2509-26. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/22/7/2509/6096023?login=true ). NIN, en conjunto con los genes NF-YA y NF-YB, son de gran importancia porque son la señal de partida para que comience la organogénesis y la proliferación de los nódulos (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ).

La planta tiene mecanismos para aceptar a los simbiontes, pero también emite una leve reacción de defensa intentando rechazar a los mismos (7575. Bapaume L, Reinhardt D. How membranes shape plant symbioses: signaling and transport in nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhiza. Frontiers in Plant Science [Internet]. 2012;3:223. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2012.00223/full ), esta reacción se ha encontrado que es muy similar a la que se produce ante una afectación patogénica y, en consecuencia, se activan muchos genes comunes. Tal es el caso de Sinorhizobium meliloti que tiene la capacidad de inducir genes en el hospedante, similares a los que activa la planta cuando es atacada por Pseudomonas syringae (2626. Bozsó Z, Maunoury N, Szatmari A, Mergaert P, Ott PG, Zsíros LR, et al. Transcriptome analysis of a bacterially induced basal and hypersensitive response of Medicago truncatula. Plant molecular biology [Internet]. 2009;70(6):627-46. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/46335421/s11103-009-9496-820160608-1847i5rbjk.pdf?1465381657=&response-contentdisposition=inline%3B+filename%3DTranscriptome_analysis_of_a_bacterially.pdf&Expires=1637981832&Signature=aeoaEBCzv8zj58xJM0o4sYtIYNXTA-ToUh7sY6BR1UBVterlBMLVypqejVHJyV-F-dZ4SpcQHOOgo4bchiNK4k5ZkJiwbrLMHcTqIRYjngcIvYPydWGNnWpG8Fq2J-SgrU6laJ5ySma0kmp4SUYquIxqDRyDgfYuqBW~wLGBhCZcr55SqmAXRsBgbqCohU1Ub1~8f4QeSW6V1IKHLF5-8qsAAVRQp2Zr4io7yZcCYVH2ooRiPGu5v89pn-o0tmZ4VlPnW12JNtONCpn1-nD1qYs9yiUDn~~6-1sk12X7xGkjmFeoQlDGfO4yqOuRsREByVtPtQvoxw4foIkubuA__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA ). Lo que sucede a nivel molecular es que los complejos de receptores quinasas de defensa, tales como LRR-RLKs y LysM-RLKs, reconocen las moléculas de Rhs, al tiempo que producen proteínas de tipo NBS-LRR para neutralizar a las bacterias (7676. Cao Y, Halane MK, Gassmann W, Stacey G. The role of plant innate immunity in the legume-rhizobium symbiosis. Annual review of plant biology [Internet]. 2017;68:535-61. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-arplant-042916-041030 ). Algunos genes del grupo NBS-LRR, tales como Rj2, Rfg1 y Rj4 están asociados con la restricción del hospedante a un rango de bacterias, debido a que codifican para la familia cinco de proteínas asociadas con patogénesis (7777. Yang S, Tang F, Gao M, Krishnan HB, Zhu H. R gene-controlled host specificity in the legume- rhizobia symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(43):18735-40. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/43/18735.short ,7878. Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H. Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2016;170(1):26-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/170/1/26/6114002?login=true ).

En el caso de los Rhs, los nódulos no pueden crecer indefinidamente, es por esta razón, que el hospedante trata de regular la cantidad y el momento de la colonización. Se han logrado identificar al menos cinco factores endógenos y exógenos principales que controlan la nodulación, los cuales, de una manera u otra, se encuentran relacionados. En primera instancia se presenta un mecanismo propio del huésped denominado “sistema de autorregulación (AON)”, mediado por un complejo de señalización inducido por las bacterias, también la cantidad de nitrógeno disponible en el suelo puede influir, la presencia del etileno en la rizosfera, el pH del suelo (principalmente ácido) y varios factores bióticos/abióticos, que pueden ocasionar estrés para la planta huésped y, en consecuencia, producir menos nódulos por un efecto de reducción de las fuentes carbonadas en el sumidero (5858. Ferguson BJ, Mens C, Hastwell AH, Zhang M, Su H, Jones CH, et al. Legume nodulation: The host controls the party. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):41-51. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13348 ). Para el caso del mecanismo AON, los péptidos CLE1 y CLE2 en M. truncatula, sus homólogos RIC 1 y RIC 2 en G. max y P. vulgaris o los CLE-RS1 y CLE-RS2 en Lotus japonicus, son los responsables de enviar una señal al tallo de la planta para que se regule la cantidad de nódulos y, en consecuencia, en este órgano vegetal, se forme un complejo de receptores con el péptido para desencadenar una señal que vuelve a ser enviada a las raíces, para frenar el número de nódulos simbióticos (7979. Ferguson BJ, Li D, Hastwell AH, Reid DE, Li Y, Jackson SA, et al. The soybean (Glycine max) nodulation‐suppressive CLE peptide, Gm RIC 1, functions interspecifically in common white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), but not in a supernodulating line mutated in the receptor Pv NARK. Plant Biotechnology Journal [Internet]. 2014;12(8):1085-97. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pbi.12216 -8282. Reid DE, Ferguson BJ, Gresshoff PM. Inoculation-and nitrate-induced CLE peptides of soybean control NARK-dependent nodule formation. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2011;24(5):606-18. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-09-10-0207 ).

El mecanismo de colonización compartido

 

Para entender el proceso de colonización, desarrollo y reproducción de los Rhs, inicialmente se trabajó con mutantes que nodulaban poco o no lo hacían. En estos experimentos la idea fue evaluar el comportamiento del huésped vegetal en ausencia o expresión de uno o varios genes (8383. Harrison MJ. Signaling in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. [Internet]. 2005;59:19-42. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123749 ). En este tipo de experimento se observó una afectación en cuanto a la actividad y capacidad colonizativa de los HMA. Lo anterior llevó a pensar a los investigadores que, de alguna manera, el mecanismo por el cual se abrían paso los microsimbiontes, era más que anatómico-fisiológico y se podría encontrar su origen a nivel molecular (8383. Harrison MJ. Signaling in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. [Internet]. 2005;59:19-42. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123749 -8585. Senoo K, Solaiman MZ, Kawaguchi M, Imaizumi-Anraku H, Akao S, Tanaka A, et al. Isolation of two different phenotypes of mycorrhizal mutants in the model legume plant Lotus japonicus after EMStreatment. Plant and Cell Physiology [Internet]. 2000;41(6):726-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pcp/article/41/6/726/1923261?login=true ). Era de esperar encontrar genes comunes ya que estos microorganismos simbiontes comparten un mecanismo de entrada en la planta muy similar en el estado previo a ingresar en su huésped, el cual se encuentra separado por una membrana perisimbiótica altamente especializada (8686. Provorov NA, Borisov AY, Tikhonovich IA. Developmental genetics and evolution of symbiotic structures in nitrogen-fixing nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza. Journal of Theoretical Biology [Internet]. 2002;214(2):215-32. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022519301924531 ). En los Rhs se forma una estructura llamada simbiosoma (8787. Roth LE, Stacey G. Bacterium release into host cells of nitrogen-fixing soybean nodules: the symbiosome membrane comes from three sources. European journal of cell biology [Internet]. 1989;49(1):13-23. Available from: https://europepmc.org/article/med/2759097 ) y en los HMA se conoce como membrana perihaustorial, que es la que rodea los arbúsculos (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ). Es a través de esas membranas donde ocurre el intercambio de nutrientes con el huésped (8888. Day DA, Kaiser BN, Thomson R, Udvardi MK, Moreau S, Puppo A. Nutrient transport across symbiotic membranes from legume nodules. Functional Plant Biology [Internet]. 2001;28(7):669-76. Available from: https://www.publish.csiro.au/fp/pp01028 ,8989. Parniske M. Intracellular accommodation of microbes by plants: a common developmental program for symbiosis and disease? Current opinion in plant biology [Internet]. 2000;3(4):320-8. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369526600000881 ) y se ha encontrado a los genes HA1 y ANN2 en la planta modelo Medicago truncatula, como responsables de acidificar la membrana perisimbiótica y perihaustorial, probablemente para facilitar el transporte cruzado entre huesped-simbionte en el caso de HA1 y ANN2 como un inductor del primordio de nodulación, así como de células que contienen arbúsculos (9090. Manthey K, Krajinski F, Hohnjec N, Firnhaber C, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. Transcriptome profiling in root nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza identifies a collection of novel genes induced during Medicago truncatula root endosymbioses. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2004;17(10):1063-77. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2004.17.10.1063 ) (Figura 1).

Fuente propia
Figura 1.  Genes responsables de acidificar la membrana perisimbiótica y perihaustorial (ANN2 y Ha1) y genes responsables de transportar glucosa (Sweet1 y Sweet3) e hidrolizar sacarosa (Sus1 y Sus3).

En cuanto al transporte de fuentes de carbono desde el huésped hacia los simbiontes se ha encontrado en Medicago truncatula que Sus1 y Sus3 son genes presentes, tanto en HMA como en Rhs, los cuales codifican para la sacarosa sintasa, cuya responsabilidad es hidrolizar fuentes como sacarosa y almidón (9191. Hohnjec N, Perlick AM, Pühler A, Küster H. The Medicago truncatula sucrose synthase gene MtSucS1 is activated both in the infected region of root nodules and in the cortex of roots colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2003;16(10):903-15. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2003.16.10.903 ). En el caso de los HMA se expresa el gen SWEET1b que codifica para un transportador de glucosa desde el huésped a la membrana periarbuscular, lo que se convierte en un factor importante para el crecimiento intraradical del micelio, así como la proliferación de bacterias (Figura 1). Los genes SWEET incluso han sido identificados en hongos y bacterias patogénicas (9292. Chen L-Q, Hou B-H, Lalonde S, Takanaga H, Hartung ML, Qu X-Q, et al. Sugar transporters for intercellular exchange and nutrition of pathogens. Nature [Internet]. 2010;468(7323):527-32. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09606 ).

Aunque el mecanismo por el cual se desarrollan las estructuras de los HMA y Rhs son distintos, en el proceso inicial de la percepción, colonización y el posterior complejo de traducción de señales que da inicio a la nodulación y la micorrización en leguminosas, son muy similares y se pueden incluso solapar. Los genes que se comparten a nivel del proceso de colonización son denominados genes comunes SYM (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ), haciendo alusión al proceso de simbiosis. Algunos investigadores han realizado un resumen de al menos siete genes SYM (SYMRK, CASTOR, POLLUX, SYM3, SYM6, SYM15 y SYM24), entre ellos quinasas receptoras, canales putativos de proteínas y nucleoporinas, los cuales son necesarios para la entrada en la epidermis vegetal en ambos simbiontes (9393. Imaizumi-Anraku H, Takeda N, Charpentier M, Perry J, Miwa H, Umehara Y, et al. Plastid proteins crucial for symbiotic fungal and bacterial entry into plant roots. Nature [Internet]. 2005;433(7025):527-31. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03237 -9595. Kanamori N, Madsen LH, Radutoiu S, Frantescu M, Quistgaard EM, Miwa H, et al. A nucleoporin is required for induction of Ca2+ spiking in legume nodule development and essential for rhizobial and fungal symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2006;103(2):359-64. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/103/2/359.short ). NUP85 y CYCLOPS también han sido informados (1616. Parniske M. Arbuscular mycorrhiza: the mother of plant root endosymbioses. Nature Reviews Microbiology [Internet]. 2008;6(10):763-75. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro1987 ). En otros cultivos diferentes a las leguminosas, como es el caso de arroz (Oryza sativa L.), se ha reportado también genes comunes para Rhs y HMA, tales como CASTOR, POLLUX, DMI3/CCaMK y CYCLOPS (9696. Gutjahr C, Banba M, Croset V, An K, Miyao A, An G, et al. Arbuscular mycorrhiza-specific signaling in rice transcends the common symbiosis signaling pathway. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2008;20(11):2989-3005. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/20/11/2989/6092513?login=true ) (Figura 2).

Fuente propiaRuta compartida por la colonización de Rhs y HMA
Figura 2.  Genes que codifican para los transportadores de calcio (CASTOR, POLLUX/DM1, NUP85, NUP133, NENA) dentro del núcleo celular vegetal e inducción de una gradiente del catión.

A pesar de que hay genes SYM que comparten los Rhs y los HMA, es importante destacar que ambos simbiontes desarrollaron formas diferentes para colonizar en su huésped. En el caso de los Rhs, forman un tubo que va penetrando las células y en el caso de los HMA un aparato de pre-penetración o apresorio. Algunos investigadores sugieren que el apresorio está relacionado con factores transcripcionales de los genes ENOD11 y ENOD12 que, a su vez, son inducidos por los Rhs (9797. Genre A, Bonfante P. Building a mycorrhizal cell: how to reach compatibility between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2005;1(1):3-13. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140500318986 ). Posteriormente otros investigadores encontraron que los ENOD son claves para la colonización y la organogénesis en Rhs y son regulados por ERN1 (Factor de respuesta de etileno requerido para la nodulación 1) (5555. Andriankaja A, Boisson-Dernier A, Frances L, Sauviac L, Jauneau A, Barker DG, et al. AP2-ERF transcription factors mediate Nod factor-dependent Mt ENOD11 activation in root hairs via a novel cis-regulatory motif. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2007;19(9):2866-85. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/19/9/2866/6092340?login=true ).

Por otra parte, ambos simbiontes, tal como se mencionó anteriormente, requieren comunicarse con las raíces del huésped para poder desarrollar el proceso simbiótico. En esta comunicación se mencionó que se activan los genes Nod (en Rhs) y Myc (en HMA), los cuales logran producir un LCOs y LCOs+COS, respectivamente. Algunos hongos formadores de micorrizas como Rhizophagus irregularis producen LCOs sulfatados muy similares a los LCOs emitidos por los factores Nod de la bacteria Sinorhizobium meliloti en la planta M. truncatula. Esto provoca, en paralelo, que la planta “crea” que será colonizada por Rhs, cuando en realidad será por un HMA, ocasionando así la curvatura de los pelos radicales y la proliferación de raíces laterales (3636. Maillet F, Poinsot V, André O, Puech-Pagès V, Haouy A, Gueunier M, et al. Fungal lipochitooligosaccharide symbiotic signals in arbuscular mycorrhiza. Nature [Internet]. 2011;469(7328):58-63. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09622 ). A nivel molecular, este acontecimiento desencadena que la leguminosa active el factor de transcripción NSP1 (Ruta de señalización para la nodulación) requerido para la nodulación y el gen RAM1 (Requerido para la micorrización arbuscular) requerido para la colonización por HMA (9898. Gobbato E, Marsh JF, Vernié T, Wang E, Maillet F, Kim J, et al. A GRAS-type transcription factor with a specific function in mycorrhizal signaling. Current Biology [Internet]. 2012;22(23):2236-41. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982212011463 ,9999. Charpentier M, Sun J, Martins TV, Radhakrishnan GV, Findlay K, Soumpourou E, et al. Nuclearlocalized cyclic nucleotide-gated channels mediate symbiotic calcium oscillations. Science [Internet]. 2016;352(6289):1102-5. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aae0109 ) (Figura 3).

Fuente propiaA: en el primer caso, se dispone la activación de NIN para continuar con la colonización y la organogénesis de los nódulos B: en el segundo caso se promueve la ramificación de las hifas
Figura 3.  Inducción del mecanismo de aceptación del huésped vegetal al exponerse a Rhs y HMA.

Otro mecanismo de percepción de la señal externa y que, además, interactúa con los factores Nod/Myc es llevado a cabo por hormonas, tal es el caso de los brasinoesteroides, con el gen BRI1 y las estrigolactonas con el gen CCD7, los cuales están implicados en la señalización de la simbiosis entre Rhs/HMA (6969. Liu H, Zhang C, Yang J, Yu N, Wang E. Hormone modulation of legume‐rhizobial symbiosis. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology [Internet]. 2018;60(8):632-48. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jipb.12653 ,7070. Cheng X, Gou X, Yin H, Mysore KS, Li J, Wen J. Functional characterisation of brassinosteroid receptor MtBRI1 in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2017;7(1):1-12. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09297-9 ). Las proteínas DELLA, relacionadas con las giberelinas, también participan en la regulación de la expresión negativa de genes inducidos por los factores Nod para Rhs/MA y esto se manifiesta en la relación estrecha que presentan con los TF IPD3 y NSP2 (100100. Jin Y, Liu H, Luo D, Yu N, Dong W, Wang C, et al. DELLA proteins are common components of symbiotic rhizobial and mycorrhizal signalling pathways. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2016;7(1):1-14. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12433?origin=ppub ).

A nivel de receptores del huésped, los receptores LjNFR1/MtLYK3 y LjNFR5/MtNFP de la membrana vegetal, perciben el estímulo de los factores Nod. Sin embargo, existe un tercer gen que codifica para un tipo de receptor similar llamado LjSYMRK y su ortólogo MtDMI2. Estos últimos cumplen la misma función, puesto que son del tipo SYM, lo que quiere decir que logran percibir el estímulo, tanto de los HMA, como de los Rhs (Figura 4) (101101. Endre G, Kereszt A, Kevei Z, Mihacea S, Kaló P, Kiss GB. A receptor kinase gene regulating symbiotic nodule development. Nature [Internet]. 2002;417(6892):962-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00842 ,102102. Stracke S, Kistner C, Yoshida S, Mulder L, Sato S, Kaneko T, et al. A plant receptor-like kinase required for both bacterial and fungal symbiosis. Nature [Internet]. 2002;417(6892):959-62. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00841 ). El gen LjSYMRK/MtDMI2 fue el primero encontrado como común para la simbiosis de HMA y Rhs. También los receptores MFR1 y MFR2 son específicos de los HMA.

Figura 4.  Genes que codifican para los receptores vegetales involucrados con el reconocimiento de los factores de nodulación y colonización en Rhs y HMA.

Una vez percibido el estímulo y dentro del núcleo celular del huésped, se induce una despolarización de la membrana celular y un cambio en el flujo de iones, especialmente de calcio en la membrana nuclear.

Este proceso fue descrito anteriormente y, de acuerdo a lo mencionado, quedó demostrada la similitud entre Rhs y HMA, pues el calcio es modulado por los genes DMI1 y NENA, que son compartidos entre Rhs y HMA. DMI1 está relacionado con un canal transportador de Ca2+ y NENA con una proteína transportadora por nucleoporinas, ambos afectan en igual medida la infección de los simbiontes (7474. Groth M, Takeda N, Perry J, Uchida H, Dräxl S, Brachmann A, et al. NENA, a Lotus japonicus homolog of Sec13, is required for rhizodermal infection by arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi and rhizobia but dispensable for cortical endosymbiotic development. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2010;22(7):2509-26. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/22/7/2509/6096023?login=true ). Posterior a la despolarización de Ca2+ en Rhs, se produce en paralelo una formación de complejos entre proteínas GRAS como factores de transcripción (NSP1, NSP2), en conjunto con los RAM1 y RAM2, los cuales inducen la biosíntesis de monómeros de cutina y están relacionados con la formación de apresorios en HMA (Figura 3).

Otro hecho relevante y que es compartido por los Rhs y HMA es la presencia de hormonas específicas como las proteínas CLE, las cuales actúan como mediadores de la comunicación entre célula-célula en las plantas y están claramente identificadas en M. truncatula, así como sus homólogos en otras especies de leguminosas. Específicamente, son las moléculas que le comunican a los brotes para que envíen una señal a las raíces, indicando detener la colonización por bacterias (8080. Mortier V, Den Herder G, Whitford R, Van de Velde W, Rombauts S, D’haeseleer K, et al. CLE peptides control Medicago truncatula nodulation locally and systemically. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2010;153(1):222-37. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/153/1/222/6108407?login=true ,8181. Okamoto S, Ohnishi E, Sato S, Takahashi H, Nakazono M, Tabata S, et al. Nod factor/nitrate-induced CLE genes that drive HAR1-mediated systemic regulation of nodulation. Plant and Cell Physiology [Internet]. 2009;50(1):67-77. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pcp/article/50/1/67/1851930?login=true ) (Figura 5). Sin embargo, estos péptidos también son incorporados en las raíces, a través de los HMA, para modular la arquitectura radicular, favoreciendo el crecimiento lateral e inhibiendo el apical (103103. Wang G, Zhang G, Wu M. CLE peptide signaling and crosstalk with phytohormones and environmental stimuli. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2016;6:1211. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01211/full ). Lo anterior, de alguna manera, hace pensar que pueda haber una implicación directa o indirecta en la regulación de la infección por Rhs, mediada por los HMA, ya que en condiciones de una colonización dual, los péptidos CLE activarán el mecanismo de regulación en las plantas para no permitir más colonización.

Fuente propiaCLE1 también es incorporado por HMA, resultando en ramificación de las raíces secundarias
Figura 5.  Péptidos CLE enviados desde los nódulos a los brotes y estos, a su vez, activan el mecanismo AON para regular la cantidad de los mismos.

Algunos investigadores reportan disminución en la presencia de Rhs por inoculación de HMA (104104. Ballesteros-Almanza L, Altamirano-Hernandez J, Pena-Cabriales JJ, Santoyo G, Sanchez-Yanez JM, Valencia-Cantero E, et al. Effect of co-inoculation with mycorrhiza and rhizobia on the nodule trehalose content of different bean genotypes. The open microbiology journal [Internet]. 2010;4:83. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3023947/ ). En otros estudios, por el contrario, se ha realizado y cuantificado la infección dual por inoculación con Rhs/HMA versus inoculación individual y se ha encontrado que, a pesar de que los HMA pueden activar el mecanismo AON por medio de los péptidos CLE, no son suficientes para reducir la infección por Rhs; de hecho, se han visto incluso reducidas en cuanto a la cantidad de hifas en el tejido de su huésped y son más eficientes cuando se inoculan en conjunto con Rhs (2323. Sakamoto K, Ogiwara N, Kaji T, Sugimoto Y, Ueno M, Sonoda M, et al. Transcriptome analysis of soybean (Glycine max) root genes differentially expressed in rhizobial, arbuscular mycorrhizal, and dual symbiosis. Journal of plant research [Internet]. 2019;132(4):541-68. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31165947/ ,105105. González RL, Sosa BN, Díaz RB. Efecto de la aplicación de Rhizobium y Mycorriza en el crecimiento del frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) variedad CC-25-9 negro. Centro Agrícola [Internet]. 2012;39(4):17-20. Available from: http://cagricola.uclv.edu.cu/descargas/pdf/V39-Numero_4/cag044121877.pdf -107107. Tajini F, Trabelsi M, Drevon J-J. Combined inoculation with Glomus intraradices and Rhizobium tropici CIAT899 increases phosphorus use efficiency for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences [Internet]. 2012;19(2):157-63. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X11000726 ). Lo descrito anteriormente expone cómo no solamente existe una regulación de los simbiontes por parte de la planta; sino que también se da a nivel de los propios microorganismos; sin embargo, no tiene la magnitud suficiente y más bien conviven con su huésped. Por otra parte, los Rhs tienen un compuesto característico y abundante: las leghemoglobinas, cuya función es proteger a las bacterias de la entrada de oxígeno para que la nitrogenasa pueda realizar la fijación biológica de nitrógeno atmosférico (2121. Li X, Feng H, Wen J, Dong J, Wang T. MtCAS31 aids symbiotic nitrogen fixation by protecting the leghemoglobin MtLb120-1 under drought stress in Medicago truncatula. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2018;9:633. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00633/full ). El gen VfLb29 es el responsable de producir las proteínas necesarias para la leghemoglobina. Este gen se expresa de igual manera cuando hay infección por HMA, debido a que la expresión del promotor de un gen que codifica para un transportador de fósforo (StPt3), activa la expresión de VfLb29 (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ,108108. Fehlberg V, Vieweg MF, Dohmann EM, Hohnjec N, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. The promoter of the leghaemoglobin gene VfLb29: functional analysis and identification of modules necessary for its activation in the infected cells of root nodules and in the arbuscule-containing cells of mycorrhizal roots. Journal of Experimental Botany [Internet]. 2005;56(413):799-806. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/56/413/799/550015?login=true ).

Con la llegada de nuevas tecnologías, como los estudios de expresión génica, a través del transcriptoma, se han logrado dilucidar los genes que se activan o silencian cuando una planta es colonizada por HMA, Rhs o ambos. Los primeros estudios en esta temática encontraron 75 genes regulados “corriente arriba” (hacia el extremo 5´) durante el evento de colonización dual (9090. Manthey K, Krajinski F, Hohnjec N, Firnhaber C, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. Transcriptome profiling in root nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza identifies a collection of novel genes induced during Medicago truncatula root endosymbioses. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2004;17(10):1063-77. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2004.17.10.1063 ).

Posteriormente, otros investigadores compararon perfiles diferenciados de expresión de genes (DEGs), y se encontró expresión génica “corriente arriba/corriente abajo” (hacia el extremo 5´/hacia el extremo 3´), siendo 288/233 genes comunes para HMA y Rhs (2727. Nanjareddy K, Arthikala M-K, Gómez B-M, Blanco L, Lara M. Differentially expressed genes in mycorrhized and nodulated roots of common bean are associated with defense, cell wall architecture, N metabolism, and P metabolism. PloS one [Internet]. 2017;12(8):e0182328. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182328 ). En este estudio se encontraron perfiles de expresión cuantitativa de genes en tres etapas: procesos biológicos (PB), función molecular (FM) y componentes celulares (CC). De acuerdo a lo anterior, en PB se obtuvo alta frecuencia de genes relacionados con procesos metabólicos, rutas energéticas, traducción de señales, transporte y respuesta al estrés; para la etapa FM genes relacionados con enzimas de actividad catalítica como la hidrolasa, oxidoreductasa, proteínas quinasas y actividad transferasa y, finalmente, para la etapa CC, se encontraron genes para la pared celular y la membrana plasmática. En resumen, los genes se agruparon en tres conglomerados de expresión, según los procesos involucrados y se determinó que, tanto los HMA como los Rhs, comparten genes involucrados en los procesos de defensa, la estructura de la pared celular y el metabolismo de N y P (2727. Nanjareddy K, Arthikala M-K, Gómez B-M, Blanco L, Lara M. Differentially expressed genes in mycorrhized and nodulated roots of common bean are associated with defense, cell wall architecture, N metabolism, and P metabolism. PloS one [Internet]. 2017;12(8):e0182328. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182328 ).

Finalmente, los estudios aquí presentados no necesariamente describen la totalidad de la diversidad de expresión de genes, pues se han realizado en especies modelo y cada huésped vegetal interactúa de forma singular con su(s) simbionte(s). En algunos casos se han inoculado varias especies vegetales con un mismo HMA y se han obtenido respuestas metabólicas similares, a este mecanismo se le conoce como especieindependiente. Por ejemplo, al inocular varias especies vegetales con el hongo Rhizophagus irregularis se observó un cambio en el metaboloma de entre 18-45 % en todas las especies inoculadas (109109. French KE. Engineering mycorrhizal symbioses to alter plant metabolism and improve crop health. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2017;8:1403. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01403/full ,110110. Schweiger R, Baier MC, Persicke M, Müller C. High specificity in plant leaf metabolic responses to arbuscular mycorrhiza. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2014;5(1):1-11. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms4886 ). También se ha registrado una asociación especie-dependiente, es decir, al inocular con un hongo varias especies vegetales se ha obtenido únicamente un cambio en el metaboloma de una sola especie (111111. Rivero J, Gamir J, Aroca R, Pozo MJ, Flors V. Metabolic transition in mycorrhizal tomato roots. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2015;6:598. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00598/full ).

El proceso de colonización de los HMA a nivel molecular aún no está esclarecido, por lo cual es necesario profundizar al respecto. En perspectivas futuras, los estudios de expresión de genes y edición de genomas serán clave para dilucidar el mecanismo de la simbiosis dual, a nivel de señalización temprana y colonización temprana, los cuales permitirán a su vez en el caso de los HMA, aclarar cada proceso a nivel molecular.

La ingeniería genética como proa del desarrollo biotecnológico de los hma y los Rhs

 

Con el advenimiento de nuevas tecnologías y herramientas en el campo de la ingeniería genética, existe una tendencia a desarrollar proyectos en esta línea, debido a que cada vez que un estudio se publica, se abren más interrogantes y posibilidades de realizar modificaciones en numerosos campos. En cuanto a los Rhs es importante destacar el potencial que existe en cuanto a la modificación de la aceptación de una bacteria por parte del huésped vegetal.

Según lo mencionado y de acuerdo a lo descrito durante este documento, se han registraron genes del grupo NBS-LRR, tales como Rj2, Rfg1 y Rj4 que están asociados a la restricción del hospedero a un rango de bacterias, debido a que codifican para la familia 5 de proteínas asociadas con patogénesis (7777. Yang S, Tang F, Gao M, Krishnan HB, Zhu H. R gene-controlled host specificity in the legume- rhizobia symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(43):18735-40. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/43/18735.short ,7878. Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H. Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2016;170(1):26-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/170/1/26/6114002?login=true ) y esto es motivo de atención para una posible modificación de estos genes. Un grupo de investigadores realizaron las primeras aproximaciones, utilizando CRISPR/Cas9 para aumentar la colonización de cepas incompatibles con soya (Glycine max) (7878. Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H. Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2016;170(1):26-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/170/1/26/6114002?login=true ).

Otra investigación (112112. Wang Q, Yang S, Liu J, Terecskei K, Ábrahám E, Gombár A, et al. Host-secreted antimicrobial peptide enforces symbiotic selectivity in Medicago truncatula. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2017;114(26):6854-9. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/114/26/6854.short ), en la que se realizó la modificación de los péptidos NCR (nódulo rico en cisteína) fue informada. Estas moléculas tienen un papel importante en la restricción de Rhs y esto le permitió a M. truncatula ser colonizada por una cepa de Rhs poco infectiva hasta entonces (103103. Wang G, Zhang G, Wu M. CLE peptide signaling and crosstalk with phytohormones and environmental stimuli. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2016;6:1211. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01211/full ). Finalmente, existe también la posibilidad de modificar los receptores LjNFR1/MtLYK3 y LjNFR5/MtNFP, ya que alteran el grado y la especificidad en que una especie de Rhs logra colonizar al huésped vegetal (113113. Radutoiu S, Madsen LH, Madsen EB, Felle HH, Umehara Y, Grønlund M, et al. Plant recognition of symbiotic bacteria requires two LysM receptor-like kinases. Nature [Internet]. 2003;425(6958):585-92. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02039 ).

Los criterios señalados indican que existe la posibilidad de que diferentes especies vegetales puedan ser colonizadas por más de una cepa de Rhs, aunque puede existir cierta especificad entre el genoma vegetal y bacteriano, contribuyendo a optimizar la expresión de cada gen. A pesar de lo anterior, también debe asumirse una posición cautelosa para que el balance hacia la planta o el ecosistema sea siempre positivo, sin embargo, constituye una línea de investigación interesante.

Otro aspecto a considerar es el uso de la transformación genética con el propósito de transferir genes de unas especies de Rhs a otras, en la búsqueda de mejorar la eficiencia de la colonización del huésped. Se ha registrado transferencia de genes Nod de unas bacterias a otras; por ejemplo, de Rhizobium leguminosarum a Rhizobium phaseoli para que estas últimas colonicen arvejas (Pisum sativum), además de frijoles (Phaseolus vulgaris) (114114. Kumaar SA, Babu RP, Vivek P, Saravanan D. Role of Nitrogen Fixers as Biofertilizers in Future Perspective: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology [Internet]. 2020;13(5):2459-67. Available from: https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:rjpt&volume=13&issue=5&article=070 ). Por medio de esta tecnología también se abre la posibilidad de transferir genes Nif (fijación de nitrógeno).

La transformación genética puede llevarse a cabo por métodos directos o indirectos. En este caso utilizar métodos indirectos por medio de Agrobacterium sería lo indicado, debido a que comparte mucha similitud con los Rhs de leguminosas.

Además de la transformación genética a nivel de bacteria, podría considerarse la transformación a nivel de huésped. Los genes candidatos para este fin son: Rj2, Rfg1 y Rj4 del grupo de los NBS-LRR y los relacionados con los receptores NFR1/LYK3 y NFR5/NFP (alteran el grado y la especificidad en que una especie de Rh logra colonizar al huésped vegetal).

Siguiendo la línea de los Rhs, existe la posibilidad de modificar la enzima nitrogenasa (NifH, NifD, NifK, NifE y NifN), la cual está constituida de una subunidad larga compuesta por Molibdeno-Hierro y una pequeña compuesta por una proteína férrica o reductasa dinitrogenasa. Esta última, se acopla a un complejo de MgATP que entrega energía y dona electrones para la reducción de nitrógeno (114114. Kumaar SA, Babu RP, Vivek P, Saravanan D. Role of Nitrogen Fixers as Biofertilizers in Future Perspective: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology [Internet]. 2020;13(5):2459-67. Available from: https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:rjpt&volume=13&issue=5&article=070 ). Esta enzima se ha identificado en la mayoría de las especies de leguminosas infectadas por Rhs, razón por la cual puede ser de especial atención para su modificación genética. El principal objetivo sería hacerla más eficiente mejorando el acoplamiento con Mg-ATP e incrementando la reducción de nitrógeno. Lo anterior provocaría una mayor entrega de amonio (principalmente) a la planta.

Por otra parte, el molibdeno, así como el hierro y el azufre son importantes para la nitrogenasa. Un grupo de investigadores identificaron que los genes MOT1.2/1.3 están relacionados con transportadores que se encuentran en la membrana plasmática de las células endodermales los cuales encierran las ramificaciones vasculares del nódulo y estas modulan la entrada, así como la distribución de Mo en las células (115115. Gil‐Díez P, Tejada‐Jiménez M, León‐Mediavilla J, Wen J, Mysore KS, Imperial J, et al. MtMOT1. 2 is responsible for molybdate supply to Medicago truncatula nodules. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):310-20. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13388 ). Aún falta por determinar cómo el Mo es transportado al simbiosoma (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ), pero esos genes son candidatos para ser estudiados y descifrar la posibilidad de hacer la subunidad Mo-Fe de la nitrogenasa más eficiente.

Los transportadores de calcio (NENA, CASTOR, POLLUX, NUP85, NUP133, DMI3 y DMI1) también son susceptibles de ser modificados, de tal forma que el gradiente de calcio que se produzca en el núcleo sea motivo de una mayor transcripción de respuesta de la colonización. Resulta importante destacar que, independientemente del transportador que se elija modificar, lo que debe buscarse es la optimización del proceso; es decir, no exceder los límites que la planta pueda tolerar para no causar un desequilibrio en términos de balance energético.

En cuanto a los HMA el uso más común es la extracción de sus propágulos del suelo para inocular ex-situ y de esta forma incrementar la cantidad de este tipo de hongo en suelos agrícolas, esto se lleva a cabo debido a que los HMA son poco específicos y pueden colonizar varios hospederos, registrándose así muchos estudios al respecto (116116. Torrez V, Ceulemans T, Mergeay J, De Meester L, Honnay O. Effects of adding an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum and of distance to donor sites on plant species recolonization following topsoil removal. Applied Vegetation Science [Internet]. 2016;19(1):7-19. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/avsc.12193 ). La identificación de especies nuevas a través de la metagenómica puede apoyar la típica inoculación ex-situ; recientemente se encontró especies nuevas en ambientes tan inhóspitos como desiertos y podrían ser utilizados en diversos cultivos para incrementar sus rendimientos (117117. Symanczik S, Błaszkowski J, Chwat G, Boller T, Wiemken A, Al-Yahya’ei MN. Three new species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi discovered at one location in a desert of Oman: Diversispora omaniana, Septoglomus nakheelum and Rhizophagus arabicus. Mycologia [Internet]. 2014;106(2):243-59. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3852/106.2.243 ). Además, la secuenciación de los HMA podría brindar nuevos descubrimientos en cuanto a genómica y transcriptómica referentes al mecanismo de infección que comparten con los Rhs.

El uso de la ingeniería genética tiene un gran potencial para la agricultura, pero se necesita la secuenciación de especies para identificar y modificar la expresión de genes de interés. Sin embargo, este aspecto ha sido poco investigado y solamente se ha secuenciado R. irregularis, en un estudio, donde se realiza una recopilación de genes de interés que pueden ser modificados en esta especie (109109. French KE. Engineering mycorrhizal symbioses to alter plant metabolism and improve crop health. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2017;8:1403. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01403/full ). Por su parte, algunos investigadores sugieren utilizar, inicialmente, la información obtenida en otros hongos como Aspergillus niger y Penicillium chrysogenum en cuanto a promotores y factores de transcripción (118118. Polli F, Meijrink B, Bovenberg RA, Driessen AJ. New promoters for strain engineering of Penicillium chrysogenum. Fungal Genetics and Biology [Internet]. 2016;89:62-71. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087184515300517 ).

Debido a que la mayoría de HMA no se reproducen sexualmente, convierte a estos organismos en altamente prometedores al utilizar ingeniería genética y biología sintética, ya que los genes que se introduzcan difícilmente se incorporarán de forma cruzada en otras especies (119119. Pawlowska TE. Genetic processes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. FEMS Microbiology Letters [Internet]. 2005;251(2):185-92. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/femsle/article/251/2/185/601349?login=true ). Además, este tipo de hongos tiene gran importancia en la fitoremediación de suelos contaminados con metales pesados, puesto que hay registros científicos de la posibilidad de mejorar la expresión de genes que codifican para proteínas quelatantes como fitoquelatinas y metalotioneinas, así como metabolitos como oxalato, los cuales desactivan la toxicidad por metales pesados (109109. French KE. Engineering mycorrhizal symbioses to alter plant metabolism and improve crop health. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2017;8:1403. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01403/full ,120120. Sayer JA, Gadd GM. Solubilization and transformation of insoluble inorganic metal compounds to insoluble metal oxalates by Aspergillus niger. Mycological Research [Internet]. 1997;101(6):653-61. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mycologicalresearch/article/abs/solubilization-and-transformation-of-insoluble-inorganic-metal-compounds-toinsoluble-metal-oxalates-by-aspergillus-niger/0A498FDCFD1784B980BAD284216A8EAB ).

A pesar de los beneficios brindados por los HMA mencionados en esta revisión, no es suficiente la investigación que se ha realizado en genética molecular para incrementar los efectos benéficos de estos hongos. Primeramente, la investigación futura debe enfocarse en temas básicos como identificación y expresión de genes que puedan afectar el crecimiento y el metabolismo de las plantas. Por otra parte, con estudios de metagenómica, caracterizar la diversidad que existe en el ambiente edáfico, para de esta forma contar con una amplia variedad de opciones en cuanto a futuras aplicaciones que podrían ser provechosas para el ser humano y los diferentes ecosistemas.

Conclusiones

 
  • Los microsimbiontes (Rhs y HMA) se orientan a su huésped por la señal emitida por las raíces del mismo. Al percibir la señal, ambos microsimbiontes comienzan a activar genes que secretan compuestos que se ligan con la membrana de su huésped para, a su vez, activar el mecanismo de aceptación y acoplamiento por parte de la planta.

  • La planta configura su anatomía, expresando genes que le permiten a los microsimbiontes colonizar e intercambiar compuestos químicos en un proceso de comunicación continuo, a través de la membrana perisimbiótica y perihaustorial para el caso de Rhs y HMA, respectivamente.

  • Los genes comunes tienen gran potencial para ser candidatos de modificación genética y de esta forma hacer más eficiente la colonización, ya sea por una o varias especies de microsimbiontes. Es importante evaluar cuando la eficiencia máxima se alcanza de forma individual o con un conjunto de especies/cepas.

  • A pesar de que la mayoría de los HMA son complejos de secuenciar por su dificultad de cultivo a nivel de laboratorio, es necesario llevar a cabo este tipo de estudios, así como aprovechar tecnologías actuales, como la metagenómica, para identificar especies y los genes relacionados con las vías de colonización, regulación y expresión. Una vez esclarecidos, se podrán identificar nuevos genes comunes a ambos simbiontes.

Bibliografía

 

1. Gruber N, Galloway JN. An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature [Internet]. 2008;451(7176):293-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06592

2. Sakamoto K, Ogiwara N, Kaji T. Involvement of autoregulation in the interaction between rhizobial nodulation and AM fungal colonization in soybean roots. Biology and Fertility of soils [Internet]. 2013;49(8):1141-52. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00374-013-0804-8

3. Foyer CH, Lam H-M, Nguyen HT, Siddique KH, Varshney RK, Colmer TD, et al. Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production. Nature plants [Internet]. 2016;2(8):1-10. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nplants2016112

4. Wade MJ. The co-evolutionary genetics of ecological communities. Nature Reviews Genetics [Internet]. 2007;8(3):185-95. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg2031

5. Gilbert SF, Bosch TC, Ledón-Rettig C. Eco-Evo-Devo: developmental symbiosis and developmental plasticity as evolutionary agents. Nature Reviews Genetics [Internet]. 2015;16(10):611-22. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3982

6. Kiers ET, West SA. Evolving new organisms via symbiosis. Science [Internet]. 2015;348(6233):392-4. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aaa9605

7. McFall-Ngai M, Hadfield MG, Bosch TC, Carey HV, Domazet-Lošo T, Douglas AE, et al. Animals in a bacterial world, a new imperative for the life sciences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2013;110(9):3229-36. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/110/9/3229.short

8. Simon L, Bousquet J, Lévesque RC, Lalonde M. Origin and diversification of endomycorrhizal fungi and coincidence with vascular land plants. Nature [Internet]. 1993;363(6424):67-9. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/363067a0

9. Remy W, Taylor TN, Hass H, Kerp H. Four hundred-million-year-old vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 1994;91(25):11841-3.

10. Doyle JJ. Phylogenetic perspectives on the origins of nodulation. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2011;24(11):1289-95. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-05-11-0114

11. Lum MR, Hirsch AM. Roots and their symbiotic microbes: strategies to obtain nitrogen and phosphorus in a nutrient-limiting environment. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation [Internet]. 2002;21(4):368-82. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/50695661/Roots_and_Their_Symbiotic_Microbes_Strat20161203-18979-zmsc1o.pdf?1480786248=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DRoots_and_their_symbiotic_microbes_strat.pdf&Expires=1637980035&Signature=CLS84WGYgwkPInm3BQHfvQcxuywR35uX-15tbKWTGDWhvTiOOJrRWuRGP1M6AhDYl2pcH5beB7wk3ZL3h3Bqlq5W5phQyTb5qUqYGs7c8w~a3ZgGzYNS8ZQcFTrFA0MjAZItmdG-AsX6a3dcCrEJXkDIyC6AbkWREc8h7Ekhwb4zJ12R4w2gshuoVmXm7NbeVCkcBK7juNRbTFff-gApnUfrPvYxydDq9c8rng9DKr8S3tynVW9d5EW~X1x~RB7hVM83kwAfrc9Tx0zWoJzt8ardCPY6E7YVMMU1QOPvbe1gCCNwImedD5azzJt0YNMjdNRnsZd7jGcaZ~iBsQ__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

12. Kennedy AC, de Luna LZ. RHIZOSPHERE. In: Hillel D, editor. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment [Internet]. Oxford: Elsevier; 2005 [cited 26/11/2021]. p. 399-406. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123485304001636

13. SCHÜßLER A, Schwarzott D, Walker C. A new fungal phylum, the Glomeromycota: phylogeny and evolution. Mycological research [Internet]. 2001;105(12):1413-21. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mycological-research/article/abs/new-fungal-phylum-theglomeromycota-phylogeny-and-evolution/6A4E3EB5D8D502B5571F591F5B705C47

14. Kistner C, Parniske M. Evolution of signal transduction in intracellular symbiosis. Trends in plant science [Internet]. 2002;7(11):511-8. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1360138502023567

15. Vessey JK, Pawlowski K, Bergman B. Root-based N2-fixing symbioses: legumes, actinorhizal plants, Parasponia sp. and cycads. Plant and soil [Internet]. 2005;274(1):51-78. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-005-5881-5

16. Parniske M. Arbuscular mycorrhiza: the mother of plant root endosymbioses. Nature Reviews Microbiology [Internet]. 2008;6(10):763-75. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro1987

17. Solís-Ramos LY, Coto-López C, Andrade-Torres A. Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in remediation of anthropogenic soil pollution. Symbiosis [Internet]. 2021;1-16. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/351356453_Role_of_arbuscular_mycorrhizal_symbiosis_in_remediation_of_anthropogenic_soil_pollution/links/6102c0bd0c2bfa282a0d4330/Role-of-arbuscular-mycorrhizalsymbiosis-in-remediation-of-anthropogenic-soil-pollution.pdf

18. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000

19. Matson PA, Parton WJ, Power AG, Swift MJ. Agricultural intensification and ecosystem properties. Science [Internet]. 1997;277(5325):504-9. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.277.5325.504

20. Bonfante P, Genre A. Mechanisms underlying beneficial plant-fungus interactions in mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature communications [Internet]. 2010;1(1):1-11. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1046?fbclid=IwAR1g7_DQ5BfH6DKqDAuMLO0CIqwsSMMgkEUVRMWED7EVdhpQcloMbKDEMfs

21. Li X, Feng H, Wen J, Dong J, Wang T. MtCAS31 aids symbiotic nitrogen fixation by protecting the leghemoglobin MtLb120-1 under drought stress in Medicago truncatula. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2018;9:633. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00633/full

22. Kim G-B, Son S-U, Yu H-J, Mun J-H. MtGA2ox10 encoding C20-GA2-oxidase regulates rhizobial infection and nodule development in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2019;9(1):1-13. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42407-3

23. Sakamoto K, Ogiwara N, Kaji T, Sugimoto Y, Ueno M, Sonoda M, et al. Transcriptome analysis of soybean (Glycine max) root genes differentially expressed in rhizobial, arbuscular mycorrhizal, and dual symbiosis. Journal of plant research [Internet]. 2019;132(4):541-68. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31165947/

24. Sakamoto K, Nohara Y. Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) shoots systemically control arbuscule formation in mycorrhizal symbiosis. Soil science and plant nutrition [Internet]. 2009;55(2):252-7. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1747-0765.2009.00358.x

25. Gill AS, Purnell K, Palmer MI, Stein J, McGuire KL. Microbial Composition and Functional Diversity Differ Across Urban Green Infrastructure Types. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2020;11:912. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00912/full

26. Bozsó Z, Maunoury N, Szatmari A, Mergaert P, Ott PG, Zsíros LR, et al. Transcriptome analysis of a bacterially induced basal and hypersensitive response of Medicago truncatula. Plant molecular biology [Internet]. 2009;70(6):627-46. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/46335421/s11103-009-9496-820160608-1847i5rbjk.pdf?1465381657=&response-contentdisposition=inline%3B+filename%3DTranscriptome_analysis_of_a_bacterially.pdf&Expires=1637981832&Signature=aeoaEBCzv8zj58xJM0o4sYtIYNXTA-ToUh7sY6BR1UBVterlBMLVypqejVHJyV-F-dZ4SpcQHOOgo4bchiNK4k5ZkJiwbrLMHcTqIRYjngcIvYPydWGNnWpG8Fq2J-SgrU6laJ5ySma0kmp4SUYquIxqDRyDgfYuqBW~wLGBhCZcr55SqmAXRsBgbqCohU1Ub1~8f4QeSW6V1IKHLF5-8qsAAVRQp2Zr4io7yZcCYVH2ooRiPGu5v89pn-o0tmZ4VlPnW12JNtONCpn1-nD1qYs9yiUDn~~6-1sk12X7xGkjmFeoQlDGfO4yqOuRsREByVtPtQvoxw4foIkubuA__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

27. Nanjareddy K, Arthikala M-K, Gómez B-M, Blanco L, Lara M. Differentially expressed genes in mycorrhized and nodulated roots of common bean are associated with defense, cell wall architecture, N metabolism, and P metabolism. PloS one [Internet]. 2017;12(8):e0182328. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182328

28. Mohammadi-Dehcheshmeh M, Niazi A, Ebrahimi M, Tahsili M, Nurollah Z, Ebrahimi Khaksefid R, et al. Unified transcriptomic signature of arbuscular mycorrhiza colonization in roots of Medicago truncatula by integration of machine learning, promoter analysis, and direct merging meta-analysis. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2018;9:1550. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.01550/full

29. Tromas A, Parizot B, Diagne N, Champion A, Hocher V, Cissoko M, et al. Heart of endosymbioses: transcriptomics reveals a conserved genetic program among arbuscular mycorrhizal, actinorhizal and legume-rhizobial symbioses. 2012; Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0044742

30. Barea J-M. Interaction between mycorrhizal fungi and rhizosphere micro-organisms with in the context of sustainable soil-plant systems. Multitrophic interactions in terrestrial systems [Internet]. 1997;65-7. Available from: https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10029653607/

31. Sprent JI, James EK. Legume evolution: where do nodules and mycorrhizas fit in? Plant physiology [Internet]. 2007;144(2):575-81. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/144/2/575/6106716?login=true

32. Zgadzaj R, Garrido-Oter R, Jensen DB, Koprivova A, Schulze-Lefert P, Radutoiu S. Root nodule symbiosis in Lotus japonicus drives the establishment of distinctive rhizosphere, root, and nodule bacterial communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2016;113(49):E7996-8005. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/113/49/E7996.short

33. Ferguson BJ, Indrasumunar A, Hayashi S, Lin M-H, Lin Y-H, Reid DE, et al. Molecular analysis of legume nodule development and autoregulation. Journal of integrative plant biology [Internet]. 2010;52(1):61-76. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.17447909.2010.00899.x

34. Sprent JI, Ardley J, James EK. Biogeography of nodulated legumes and their nitrogen‐fixing symbionts. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2017;215(1):40-56. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.14474

35. Dénarié J, Debellé F, Promé J-C. Rhizobium lipo-chitooligosaccharide nodulation factors: signaling molecules mediating recognition and morphogenesis. Annual review of biochemistry [Internet]. 1996;65(1):503-35. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.bi.65.070196.002443

36. Maillet F, Poinsot V, André O, Puech-Pagès V, Haouy A, Gueunier M, et al. Fungal lipochitooligosaccharide symbiotic signals in arbuscular mycorrhiza. Nature [Internet]. 2011;469(7328):58-63. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09622

37. Persson T, Battenberg K, Demina IV, Vigil-Stenman T, Vanden Heuvel B, Pujic P, et al. Candidatus Frankia datiscae Dg1, the actinobacterial microsymbiont of Datisca glomerata, expresses the canonical nod genes nodABC in symbiosis with its host plant. PloS one [Internet]. 2015;10(5):e0127630. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127630

38. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true

39. Solís-Ramos LY, Andrade-Torres A. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in tropical ecosystems towards its management? Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal [Internet]. 2020;24(4):152-5. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/343322429_Arbuscular_Mycorrhizal_Fungi_in_Tropical_Ecosystems_Towards_it s_Management_Mini_Review/links/5f22ff91a6fdcccc4399dfc9/Arbuscular-Mycorrhizal-Fungi-inTropical-Ecosystems-Towards-its-Management-Mini-Review.pdf

40. Croll D, Giovannetti M, Koch AM, Sbrana C, Ehinger M, Lammers PJ, et al. Nonself vegetative fusion and genetic exchange in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2009;181(4):924-37. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02726.x

41. den Bakker HC, VanKuren NW, Morton JB, Pawlowska TE. Clonality and recombination in the life history of an asexual arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus. Molecular Biology and Evolution [Internet]. 2010;27(11):2474-86. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/27/11/2474/1127206?login=true

42. Paszkowski U. A journey through signaling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses 2006. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;172(1):35-46. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01840.x

43. Harrison MJ. Molecular and cellular aspects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annual review of plant biology [Internet]. 1999;50(1):361-89. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.arplant.50.1.361

44. Johnson NC, Rowland DL, Corkidi L, Egerton-Warburton LM, Allen EB. Nitrogen enrichment alters mycorrhizal allocation at five mesic to semiarid grasslands. Ecology [Internet]. 2003;84(7):1895-908. Available from: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/00129658(2003)084[1895:NEAMAA]2.0.CO;2

45. Johnson NC. Resource stoichiometry elucidates the structure and function of arbuscular mycorrhizas across scales. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2010;185(3):631-47. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03110.x

46. Maherali H, Klironomos JN. Influence of phylogeny on fungal community assembly and ecosystem functioning. science [Internet]. 2007;316(5832):1746-8. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1143082

47. Denison RF, Kiers ET. Life histories of symbiotic rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi. Current Biology [Internet]. 2011;21(18):R775-85. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211006634

48. Garcia-Garrido JM, Ocampo JA. Effect of VA mycorrhizal infection of tomato on damage caused by Pseudomonas syringae. Soil Biology and Biochemistry [Internet]. 1989;21(1):165-7. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0038071789900278

49. De La Peña E, Echeverría SR, Van Der Putten WH, Freitas H, Moens M. Mechanism of control of rootfeeding nematodes by mycorrhizal fungi in the dune grass Ammophila arenaria. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;169(4):829-40. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01602.x

50. Fritz M, Jakobsen I, Lyngkjær MF, Thordal-Christensen H, Pons-Kühnemann J. Arbuscular mycorrhiza reduces susceptibility of tomato to Alternaria solani. Mycorrhiza [Internet]. 2006;16(6):413-9. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16614816/

51. Pozo MJ, Azcón-Aguilar C. Unraveling mycorrhiza-induced resistance. Current opinion in plant biology [Internet]. 2007;10(4):393-8. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369526607000702

52. Jung SC, Martinez-Medina A, Lopez-Raez JA, Pozo MJ. Mycorrhiza-induced resistance and priming of plant defenses. Journal of chemical ecology [Internet]. 2012;38(6):651-64. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22623151/

53. Akiyama K, Matsuzaki K, Hayashi H. Plant sesquiterpenes induce hyphal branching in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Nature [Internet]. 2005;435(7043):824-7. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03608

54. Genre A, Chabaud M, Balzergue C, Puech‐Pagès V, Novero M, Rey T, et al. Short‐chain chitin oligomers from arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi trigger nuclear Ca2+ spiking in Medicago truncatula roots and their production is enhanced by strigolactone. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2013;198(1):190-202. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.12146

55. Andriankaja A, Boisson-Dernier A, Frances L, Sauviac L, Jauneau A, Barker DG, et al. AP2-ERF transcription factors mediate Nod factor-dependent Mt ENOD11 activation in root hairs via a novel cis-regulatory motif. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2007;19(9):2866-85. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/19/9/2866/6092340?login=true

56. Heupel S, Roser B, Kuhn H, Lebrun M-H, Villalba F, Requena N. Erl1, a novel era-like GTPase from Magnaporthe oryzae, is required for full root virulence and is conserved in the mutualistic symbiont Glomus intraradices. Molecular plant-microbe interactions [Internet]. 2010;23(1):67-81. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-23-1-0067

57. Lanfranco L, Novero M, Bonfante P. The mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora margarita possesses a CuZn superoxide dismutase that is up-regulated during symbiosis with legume hosts. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2005;137(4):1319-30. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/137/4/1319/6112689?login=true

58. Ferguson BJ, Mens C, Hastwell AH, Zhang M, Su H, Jones CH, et al. Legume nodulation: The host controls the party. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):41-51. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13348

59. Wasson AP, Pellerone FI, Mathesius U. Silencing the flavonoid pathway in Medicago truncatula inhibits root nodule formation and prevents auxin transport regulation by rhizobia. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2006;18(7):1617-29. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/18/7/1617/6115313?login=true

60. Zhang J, Subramanian S, Stacey G, Yu O. Flavones and flavonols play distinct critical roles during nodulation of Medicago truncatula by Sinorhizobium meliloti. The Plant Journal [Internet]. 2009;57(1):171-83. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365313X.2008.03676.x

61. Subramanian S, Stacey G, Yu O. Endogenous isoflavones are essential for the establishment of symbiosis between soybean and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The Plant Journal [Internet]. 2006;48(2):261-73. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365313X.2006.02874.x

62. Bolaños-Vásquez MC, Werner D. Effects of Rhizobium tropici, R. etli and R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli on nod gene-inducing flavonoids in root exudates of Phaseolus vulgaris. Molecular plantmicrobe interactions [Internet]. 1997;10(3):339-46. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.1997.10.3.339

63. Xie F, Murray JD, Kim J, Heckmann AB, Edwards A, Oldroyd GE, et al. Legume pectate lyase required for root infection by rhizobia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2012;109(2):633-8. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/109/2/633.short

64. Haney CH, Long SR. Plant flotillins are required for infection by nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(1):478-83. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/1/478.short

65. Lefebvre B, Timmers T, Mbengue M, Moreau S, Hervé C, Tóth K, et al. A remorin protein interacts with symbiotic receptors and regulates bacterial infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(5):2343-8. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/5/2343.short

66. Haney CH, Riely BK, Tricoli DM, Cook DR, Ehrhardt DW, Long SR. Symbiotic rhizobia bacteria trigger a change in localization and dynamics of the Medicago truncatula receptor kinase LYK3. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2011;23(7):2774-87. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/23/7/2774/6097218?login=true

67. Broghammer A, Krusell L, Blaise M, Sauer J, Sullivan JT, Maolanon N, et al. Legume receptors perceive the rhizobial lipochitin oligosaccharide signal molecules by direct binding. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2012;109(34):13859-64. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/109/34/13859.short

68. Moling S, Pietraszewska-Bogiel A, Postma M, Fedorova E, Hink MA, Limpens E, et al. Nod factor receptors form heteromeric complexes and are essential for intracellular infection in Medicago nodules. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2014;26(10):4188-99. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/26/10/4188/6101576?login=true

69. Liu H, Zhang C, Yang J, Yu N, Wang E. Hormone modulation of legume‐rhizobial symbiosis. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology [Internet]. 2018;60(8):632-48. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jipb.12653

70. Cheng X, Gou X, Yin H, Mysore KS, Li J, Wen J. Functional characterisation of brassinosteroid receptor MtBRI1 in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2017;7(1):1-12. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09297-9

71. Grunewald W, Van Noorden G, Van Isterdael G, Beeckman T, Gheysen G, Mathesius U. Manipulation of auxin transport in plant roots during Rhizobium symbiosis and nematode parasitism. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2009;21(9):2553-62. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/21/9/2553/6096165?login=true

72. Ariel F, Brault-Hernandez M, Laffont C, Huault E, Brault M, Plet J, et al. Two direct targets of cytokinin signaling regulate symbiotic nodulation in Medicago truncatula. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2012;24(9):3838-52. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/24/9/3838/6100604?login=true

73. Charpentier M, Bredemeier R, Wanner G, Takeda N, Schleiff E, Parniske M. Lotus japonicus CASTOR and POLLUX are ion channels essential for perinuclear calcium spiking in legume root endosymbiosis. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2008;20(12):3467-79. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/20/12/3467/6092747?login=true

74. Groth M, Takeda N, Perry J, Uchida H, Dräxl S, Brachmann A, et al. NENA, a Lotus japonicus homolog of Sec13, is required for rhizodermal infection by arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi and rhizobia but dispensable for cortical endosymbiotic development. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2010;22(7):2509-26. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/22/7/2509/6096023?login=true

75. Bapaume L, Reinhardt D. How membranes shape plant symbioses: signaling and transport in nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhiza. Frontiers in Plant Science [Internet]. 2012;3:223. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2012.00223/full

76. Cao Y, Halane MK, Gassmann W, Stacey G. The role of plant innate immunity in the legume-rhizobium symbiosis. Annual review of plant biology [Internet]. 2017;68:535-61. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-arplant-042916-041030

77. Yang S, Tang F, Gao M, Krishnan HB, Zhu H. R gene-controlled host specificity in the legume- rhizobia symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(43):18735-40. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/43/18735.short

78. Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H. Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2016;170(1):26-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/170/1/26/6114002?login=true

79. Ferguson BJ, Li D, Hastwell AH, Reid DE, Li Y, Jackson SA, et al. The soybean (Glycine max) nodulation‐suppressive CLE peptide, Gm RIC 1, functions interspecifically in common white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), but not in a supernodulating line mutated in the receptor Pv NARK. Plant Biotechnology Journal [Internet]. 2014;12(8):1085-97. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pbi.12216

80. Mortier V, Den Herder G, Whitford R, Van de Velde W, Rombauts S, D’haeseleer K, et al. CLE peptides control Medicago truncatula nodulation locally and systemically. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2010;153(1):222-37. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/153/1/222/6108407?login=true

81. Okamoto S, Ohnishi E, Sato S, Takahashi H, Nakazono M, Tabata S, et al. Nod factor/nitrate-induced CLE genes that drive HAR1-mediated systemic regulation of nodulation. Plant and Cell Physiology [Internet]. 2009;50(1):67-77. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pcp/article/50/1/67/1851930?login=true

82. Reid DE, Ferguson BJ, Gresshoff PM. Inoculation-and nitrate-induced CLE peptides of soybean control NARK-dependent nodule formation. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2011;24(5):606-18. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-09-10-0207

83. Harrison MJ. Signaling in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. [Internet]. 2005;59:19-42. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123749

84. Catoira R, Galera C, de Billy F, Penmetsa RV, Journet E-P, Maillet F, et al. Four genes of Medicago truncatula controlling components of a Nod factor transduction pathway. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2000;12(9):1647-65. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/12/9/1647/6009341?login=true

85. Senoo K, Solaiman MZ, Kawaguchi M, Imaizumi-Anraku H, Akao S, Tanaka A, et al. Isolation of two different phenotypes of mycorrhizal mutants in the model legume plant Lotus japonicus after EMStreatment. Plant and Cell Physiology [Internet]. 2000;41(6):726-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pcp/article/41/6/726/1923261?login=true

86. Provorov NA, Borisov AY, Tikhonovich IA. Developmental genetics and evolution of symbiotic structures in nitrogen-fixing nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza. Journal of Theoretical Biology [Internet]. 2002;214(2):215-32. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022519301924531

87. Roth LE, Stacey G. Bacterium release into host cells of nitrogen-fixing soybean nodules: the symbiosome membrane comes from three sources. European journal of cell biology [Internet]. 1989;49(1):13-23. Available from: https://europepmc.org/article/med/2759097

88. Day DA, Kaiser BN, Thomson R, Udvardi MK, Moreau S, Puppo A. Nutrient transport across symbiotic membranes from legume nodules. Functional Plant Biology [Internet]. 2001;28(7):669-76. Available from: https://www.publish.csiro.au/fp/pp01028

89. Parniske M. Intracellular accommodation of microbes by plants: a common developmental program for symbiosis and disease? Current opinion in plant biology [Internet]. 2000;3(4):320-8. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369526600000881

90. Manthey K, Krajinski F, Hohnjec N, Firnhaber C, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. Transcriptome profiling in root nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza identifies a collection of novel genes induced during Medicago truncatula root endosymbioses. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2004;17(10):1063-77. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2004.17.10.1063

91. Hohnjec N, Perlick AM, Pühler A, Küster H. The Medicago truncatula sucrose synthase gene MtSucS1 is activated both in the infected region of root nodules and in the cortex of roots colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2003;16(10):903-15. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2003.16.10.903

92. Chen L-Q, Hou B-H, Lalonde S, Takanaga H, Hartung ML, Qu X-Q, et al. Sugar transporters for intercellular exchange and nutrition of pathogens. Nature [Internet]. 2010;468(7323):527-32. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09606

93. Imaizumi-Anraku H, Takeda N, Charpentier M, Perry J, Miwa H, Umehara Y, et al. Plastid proteins crucial for symbiotic fungal and bacterial entry into plant roots. Nature [Internet]. 2005;433(7025):527-31. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03237

94. Kistner C, Winzer T, Pitzschke A, Mulder L, Sato S, Kaneko T, et al. Seven Lotus japonicus genes required for transcriptional reprogramming of the root during fungal and bacterial symbiosis. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2005;17(8):2217-29. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/17/8/2217/6114612?login=true

95. Kanamori N, Madsen LH, Radutoiu S, Frantescu M, Quistgaard EM, Miwa H, et al. A nucleoporin is required for induction of Ca2+ spiking in legume nodule development and essential for rhizobial and fungal symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2006;103(2):359-64. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/103/2/359.short

96. Gutjahr C, Banba M, Croset V, An K, Miyao A, An G, et al. Arbuscular mycorrhiza-specific signaling in rice transcends the common symbiosis signaling pathway. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2008;20(11):2989-3005. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/20/11/2989/6092513?login=true

97. Genre A, Bonfante P. Building a mycorrhizal cell: how to reach compatibility between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2005;1(1):3-13. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140500318986

98. Gobbato E, Marsh JF, Vernié T, Wang E, Maillet F, Kim J, et al. A GRAS-type transcription factor with a specific function in mycorrhizal signaling. Current Biology [Internet]. 2012;22(23):2236-41. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982212011463

99. Charpentier M, Sun J, Martins TV, Radhakrishnan GV, Findlay K, Soumpourou E, et al. Nuclearlocalized cyclic nucleotide-gated channels mediate symbiotic calcium oscillations. Science [Internet]. 2016;352(6289):1102-5. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aae0109

100. Jin Y, Liu H, Luo D, Yu N, Dong W, Wang C, et al. DELLA proteins are common components of symbiotic rhizobial and mycorrhizal signalling pathways. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2016;7(1):1-14. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12433?origin=ppub

101. Endre G, Kereszt A, Kevei Z, Mihacea S, Kaló P, Kiss GB. A receptor kinase gene regulating symbiotic nodule development. Nature [Internet]. 2002;417(6892):962-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00842

102. Stracke S, Kistner C, Yoshida S, Mulder L, Sato S, Kaneko T, et al. A plant receptor-like kinase required for both bacterial and fungal symbiosis. Nature [Internet]. 2002;417(6892):959-62. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00841

103. Wang G, Zhang G, Wu M. CLE peptide signaling and crosstalk with phytohormones and environmental stimuli. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2016;6:1211. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01211/full

104. Ballesteros-Almanza L, Altamirano-Hernandez J, Pena-Cabriales JJ, Santoyo G, Sanchez-Yanez JM, Valencia-Cantero E, et al. Effect of co-inoculation with mycorrhiza and rhizobia on the nodule trehalose content of different bean genotypes. The open microbiology journal [Internet]. 2010;4:83. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3023947/

105. González RL, Sosa BN, Díaz RB. Efecto de la aplicación de Rhizobium y Mycorriza en el crecimiento del frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) variedad CC-25-9 negro. Centro Agrícola [Internet]. 2012;39(4):17-20. Available from: http://cagricola.uclv.edu.cu/descargas/pdf/V39-Numero_4/cag044121877.pdf

106. Quintana LJO, Peraza RH, Gómez EF, Rodríguez CH. Efecto de inoculaciones conjuntas de Rhizobium-micorrizas arbusculares en Leucaena leucocephala cv: Perú. Centro Agrícola [Internet]. 2014;41(3):17-21. Available from: http://cagricola.uclv.edu.cu/descargas/pdf/V41Numero_3/cag033141982.pdf

107. Tajini F, Trabelsi M, Drevon J-J. Combined inoculation with Glomus intraradices and Rhizobium tropici CIAT899 increases phosphorus use efficiency for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences [Internet]. 2012;19(2):157-63. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X11000726

108. Fehlberg V, Vieweg MF, Dohmann EM, Hohnjec N, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. The promoter of the leghaemoglobin gene VfLb29: functional analysis and identification of modules necessary for its activation in the infected cells of root nodules and in the arbuscule-containing cells of mycorrhizal roots. Journal of Experimental Botany [Internet]. 2005;56(413):799-806. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/56/413/799/550015?login=true

109. French KE. Engineering mycorrhizal symbioses to alter plant metabolism and improve crop health. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2017;8:1403. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01403/full

110. Schweiger R, Baier MC, Persicke M, Müller C. High specificity in plant leaf metabolic responses to arbuscular mycorrhiza. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2014;5(1):1-11. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms4886

111. Rivero J, Gamir J, Aroca R, Pozo MJ, Flors V. Metabolic transition in mycorrhizal tomato roots. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2015;6:598. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00598/full

112. Wang Q, Yang S, Liu J, Terecskei K, Ábrahám E, Gombár A, et al. Host-secreted antimicrobial peptide enforces symbiotic selectivity in Medicago truncatula. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2017;114(26):6854-9. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/114/26/6854.short

113. Radutoiu S, Madsen LH, Madsen EB, Felle HH, Umehara Y, Grønlund M, et al. Plant recognition of symbiotic bacteria requires two LysM receptor-like kinases. Nature [Internet]. 2003;425(6958):585-92. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02039

114. Kumaar SA, Babu RP, Vivek P, Saravanan D. Role of Nitrogen Fixers as Biofertilizers in Future Perspective: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology [Internet]. 2020;13(5):2459-67. Available from: https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:rjpt&volume=13&issue=5&article=070

115. Gil‐Díez P, Tejada‐Jiménez M, León‐Mediavilla J, Wen J, Mysore KS, Imperial J, et al. MtMOT1. 2 is responsible for molybdate supply to Medicago truncatula nodules. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):310-20. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13388

116. Torrez V, Ceulemans T, Mergeay J, De Meester L, Honnay O. Effects of adding an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum and of distance to donor sites on plant species recolonization following topsoil removal. Applied Vegetation Science [Internet]. 2016;19(1):7-19. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/avsc.12193

117. Symanczik S, Błaszkowski J, Chwat G, Boller T, Wiemken A, Al-Yahya’ei MN. Three new species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi discovered at one location in a desert of Oman: Diversispora omaniana, Septoglomus nakheelum and Rhizophagus arabicus. Mycologia [Internet]. 2014;106(2):243-59. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3852/106.2.243

118. Polli F, Meijrink B, Bovenberg RA, Driessen AJ. New promoters for strain engineering of Penicillium chrysogenum. Fungal Genetics and Biology [Internet]. 2016;89:62-71. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087184515300517

119. Pawlowska TE. Genetic processes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. FEMS Microbiology Letters [Internet]. 2005;251(2):185-92. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/femsle/article/251/2/185/601349?login=true

120. Sayer JA, Gadd GM. Solubilization and transformation of insoluble inorganic metal compounds to insoluble metal oxalates by Aspergillus niger. Mycological Research [Internet]. 1997;101(6):653-61. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mycologicalresearch/article/abs/solubilization-and-transformation-of-insoluble-inorganic-metal-compounds-toinsoluble-metal-oxalates-by-aspergillus-niger/0A498FDCFD1784B980BAD284216A8EAB

Cultivos Tropicales Vol. 43, No. 2, abril-junio 2022, ISSN: 1819-4087
 
Review

Mycorrhizae and rhizobia: a molecular dialogue with the plant host

 

iDAndrés Zúñiga-Orozco1Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Estatal a Distancia. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.*✉:azunigao@uned.ac.cr

iDAyerin Carrodeguas-Gonzalez2Instituto de Investigaciones Hortícolas Lilliana Dimitrova, Mayabeque, Cuba.

iDLaura Yesenia Solís-Ramos3Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.


1Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Estatal a Distancia. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.

2Instituto de Investigaciones Hortícolas Lilliana Dimitrova, Mayabeque, Cuba.

3Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica. San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica.

 

*Author for correspondence: azunigao@uned.ac.cr

Abstract

Rhizobia (Rhs) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil microsymbionts associated with crop roots. For Rhs most of them are legumes and for AMF there is a wider host range; however, there are crops that develop colonization by both symbionts. In any of the symbiotic relationships, crops receive benefits when colonized by these microorganisms are varied and contribute to the use of alternatives for sustainable agriculture. The mechanism by which both symbionts penetrate their plant host has been studied at the molecular level and common genes have been identified, as well as the pathways in which they are involved. Some of these genes are related to the reception of the signal mediated by Nod factors in the case of Rhs and by Myc factors in the case of AMF, others are related to the penetration mechanism and finally to the route by which the symbiont and the plant communicate. In the present review, a list of studies concerning microsymbionts, at the level of pre-colonization, colonization and shared mechanism is made. A proposal of possible common candidate genes for Rhs and AMF to apply genetic engineering is presented, in such a way that a research field called: gene optimization is explored. Because of the similarity by which these symbionts penetrate their host and the potential for genetic modification that this implies, a close molecular, metabolic and physiological relationship is described.

Key words: 
rhizobium arbuscular mycorrhizae, genetic engineering, symbiosis, genes

Introduction

 

The creation of sustainable bioeconomies framed in the concept of circular economy demands the optimization of biological resources to improve agricultural productivity. The findings found during the last 30 years, regarding symbiosis, the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobia (Rhs), have been of great interest due to the impact they have on agriculture (11. Gruber N, Galloway JN. An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature [Internet]. 2008;451(7176):293-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06592 -33. Foyer CH, Lam H-M, Nguyen HT, Siddique KH, Varshney RK, Colmer TD, et al. Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production. Nature plants [Internet]. 2016;2(8):1-10. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nplants2016112 ).

Symbiosis is the close mutualistic relationship between two organisms, which has a beneficial effect on adaptation, ecology, and evolution for both parties (44. Wade MJ. The co-evolutionary genetics of ecological communities. Nature Reviews Genetics [Internet]. 2007;8(3):185-95. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg2031 -66. Kiers ET, West SA. Evolving new organisms via symbiosis. Science [Internet]. 2015;348(6233):392-4. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aaa9605 ). Among the most interesting mutualistic symbiotic relationships are those between fungi, bacteria, and plant cells (77. McFall-Ngai M, Hadfield MG, Bosch TC, Carey HV, Domazet-Lošo T, Douglas AE, et al. Animals in a bacterial world, a new imperative for the life sciences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2013;110(9):3229-36. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/110/9/3229.short ). AMF and Rhs originated approximately 400 and 100 million years ago, respectively (88. Simon L, Bousquet J, Lévesque RC, Lalonde M. Origin and diversification of endomycorrhizal fungi and coincidence with vascular land plants. Nature [Internet]. 1993;363(6424):67-9. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/363067a0 -1212. Kennedy AC, de Luna LZ. RHIZOSPHERE. In: Hillel D, editor. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment [Internet]. Oxford: Elsevier; 2005 [cited 26/11/2021]. p. 399-406. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123485304001636 ).

AMF belong to the phyla Glomeromycota and are organisms that colonize between 70-90 % of plant species; some authors mention that they colonize all gymnosperms, 83 % of dicotyledons and 79 % of monocotyledons (1212. Kennedy AC, de Luna LZ. RHIZOSPHERE. In: Hillel D, editor. Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment [Internet]. Oxford: Elsevier; 2005 [cited 26/11/2021]. p. 399-406. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0123485304001636 ,1313. SCHÜßLER A, Schwarzott D, Walker C. A new fungal phylum, the Glomeromycota: phylogeny and evolution. Mycological research [Internet]. 2001;105(12):1413-21. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mycological-research/article/abs/new-fungal-phylum-theglomeromycota-phylogeny-and-evolution/6A4E3EB5D8D502B5571F591F5B705C47 ); while Rhs are more restricted to the FaFaCuRo clade (Fabales, Fagales, Cucurbitaceae and Roses) (1414. Kistner C, Parniske M. Evolution of signal transduction in intracellular symbiosis. Trends in plant science [Internet]. 2002;7(11):511-8. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1360138502023567 -1616. Parniske M. Arbuscular mycorrhiza: the mother of plant root endosymbioses. Nature Reviews Microbiology [Internet]. 2008;6(10):763-75. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro1987 ). AMF have received special attention from the agricultural point of view due to the benefits they provide to plants, such as greater resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, increased surface area for water and nutrient absorption (1111. Lum MR, Hirsch AM. Roots and their symbiotic microbes: strategies to obtain nitrogen and phosphorus in a nutrient-limiting environment. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation [Internet]. 2002;21(4):368-82. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/50695661/Roots_and_Their_Symbiotic_Microbes_Strat20161203-18979-zmsc1o.pdf?1480786248=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DRoots_and_their_symbiotic_microbes_strat.pdf&Expires=1637980035&Signature=CLS84WGYgwkPInm3BQHfvQcxuywR35uX-15tbKWTGDWhvTiOOJrRWuRGP1M6AhDYl2pcH5beB7wk3ZL3h3Bqlq5W5phQyTb5qUqYGs7c8w~a3ZgGzYNS8ZQcFTrFA0MjAZItmdG-AsX6a3dcCrEJXkDIyC6AbkWREc8h7Ekhwb4zJ12R4w2gshuoVmXm7NbeVCkcBK7juNRbTFff-gApnUfrPvYxydDq9c8rng9DKr8S3tynVW9d5EW~X1x~RB7hVM83kwAfrc9Tx0zWoJzt8ardCPY6E7YVMMU1QOPvbe1gCCNwImedD5azzJt0YNMjdNRnsZd7jGcaZ~iBsQ__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA ,1515. Vessey JK, Pawlowski K, Bergman B. Root-based N2-fixing symbioses: legumes, actinorhizal plants, Parasponia sp. and cycads. Plant and soil [Internet]. 2005;274(1):51-78. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-005-5881-5 ), as well as their use in bioremediation (1717. Solís-Ramos LY, Coto-López C, Andrade-Torres A. Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in remediation of anthropogenic soil pollution. Symbiosis [Internet]. 2021;1-16. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/351356453_Role_of_arbuscular_mycorrhizal_symbiosis_in_remediation_of_anthropogenic_soil_pollution/links/6102c0bd0c2bfa282a0d4330/Role-of-arbuscular-mycorrhizalsymbiosis-in-remediation-of-anthropogenic-soil-pollution.pdf ), among others. Rhizobia are also very important for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and there are even studies that mention that they could fix the annual amount of synthetic ammonium produced (11. Gruber N, Galloway JN. An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature [Internet]. 2008;451(7176):293-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06592 ,1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ).

Currently, the natural use of nitrogen-fixing bacteria symbiosis in leguminous plants has been promoted to reduce the amount of nitrogen applied through chemical fertilizers, which can cause eutrophication and decrease the diversity of soil microorganisms (33. Foyer CH, Lam H-M, Nguyen HT, Siddique KH, Varshney RK, Colmer TD, et al. Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production. Nature plants [Internet]. 2016;2(8):1-10. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nplants2016112 ,1919. Matson PA, Parton WJ, Power AG, Swift MJ. Agricultural intensification and ecosystem properties. Science [Internet]. 1997;277(5325):504-9. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.277.5325.504 ).

AMF penetrate the host through the cortex of the parenchyma of finest roots and in the interior of cells they form branched structures called arbuscules (2020. Bonfante P, Genre A. Mechanisms underlying beneficial plant-fungus interactions in mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature communications [Internet]. 2010;1(1):1-11. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1046?fbclid=IwAR1g7_DQ5BfH6DKqDAuMLO0CIqwsSMMgkEUVRMWED7EVdhpQcloMbKDEMfs ); while Rhs penetrate their host through the root hairs, folding them until an infection tube is formed in which the symbiosome develops in the internal end (2121. Li X, Feng H, Wen J, Dong J, Wang T. MtCAS31 aids symbiotic nitrogen fixation by protecting the leghemoglobin MtLb120-1 under drought stress in Medicago truncatula. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2018;9:633. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00633/full ,2222. Kim G-B, Son S-U, Yu H-J, Mun J-H. MtGA2ox10 encoding C20-GA2-oxidase regulates rhizobial infection and nodule development in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2019;9(1):1-13. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42407-3 ). The colonization mechanisms of AMF and Rhs are very similar, even to the extent of activating and deactivating common genes. For their study, species of the legume family have been used, which can host both microsymbionts and as a result accumulate greater dry mass and have a larger root surface for nutrient absorption (2323. Sakamoto K, Ogiwara N, Kaji T, Sugimoto Y, Ueno M, Sonoda M, et al. Transcriptome analysis of soybean (Glycine max) root genes differentially expressed in rhizobial, arbuscular mycorrhizal, and dual symbiosis. Journal of plant research [Internet]. 2019;132(4):541-68. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31165947/ ).

There is clear evidence for the existence of a shared mechanism in shared colonization that induces a type of self-regulation between the microsymbionts and occurs in constant communication with the plant (2424. Sakamoto K, Nohara Y. Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) shoots systemically control arbuscule formation in mycorrhizal symbiosis. Soil science and plant nutrition [Internet]. 2009;55(2):252-7. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1747-0765.2009.00358.x ). Through studies of the composition of microorganism communities, it has been shown that diverse habitats are capable of harboring a great biological diversity of AMF and Rhs (2525. Gill AS, Purnell K, Palmer MI, Stein J, McGuire KL. Microbial Composition and Functional Diversity Differ Across Urban Green Infrastructure Types. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2020;11:912. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00912/full ), which have applications in agriculture. In addition, a breakthrough has recently been made in sequencing and gene expression profiling, which has elucidated commonalities in the shared colonization of AMF and Rhs (2626. Bozsó Z, Maunoury N, Szatmari A, Mergaert P, Ott PG, Zsíros LR, et al. Transcriptome analysis of a bacterially induced basal and hypersensitive response of Medicago truncatula. Plant molecular biology [Internet]. 2009;70(6):627-46. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/46335421/s11103-009-9496-820160608-1847i5rbjk.pdf?1465381657=&response-contentdisposition=inline%3B+filename%3DTranscriptome_analysis_of_a_bacterially.pdf&Expires=1637981832&Signature=aeoaEBCzv8zj58xJM0o4sYtIYNXTA-ToUh7sY6BR1UBVterlBMLVypqejVHJyV-F-dZ4SpcQHOOgo4bchiNK4k5ZkJiwbrLMHcTqIRYjngcIvYPydWGNnWpG8Fq2J-SgrU6laJ5ySma0kmp4SUYquIxqDRyDgfYuqBW~wLGBhCZcr55SqmAXRsBgbqCohU1Ub1~8f4QeSW6V1IKHLF5-8qsAAVRQp2Zr4io7yZcCYVH2ooRiPGu5v89pn-o0tmZ4VlPnW12JNtONCpn1-nD1qYs9yiUDn~~6-1sk12X7xGkjmFeoQlDGfO4yqOuRsREByVtPtQvoxw4foIkubuA__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA -3030. Barea J-M. Interaction between mycorrhizal fungi and rhizosphere micro-organisms with in the context of sustainable soil-plant systems. Multitrophic interactions in terrestrial systems [Internet]. 1997;65-7. Available from: https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10029653607/ ).

Taking into account the criteria written above, this article is a compilation of a series of scientific evidences that reflect the similarity of the behavior in the colonization process carried out by AMF and Rhs, in response to signals of the plant host. In this way, this compilation of information is considered a bridge to define new lines of research in genetic engineering; therefore, contributing to the state of knowledge regarding candidate genes that could be modified in the future, making the relationship between AMF and Rhs and their plant hosts more efficient.

The microsymbiont: the rhizobiums

 

The bacteria that are part of the soil microbiota are mainly included in the following phyla: Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi (Chlorobacteria), Firmicutes and Proteobacteria (3131. Sprent JI, James EK. Legume evolution: where do nodules and mycorrhizas fit in? Plant physiology [Internet]. 2007;144(2):575-81. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/144/2/575/6106716?login=true ,3232. Zgadzaj R, Garrido-Oter R, Jensen DB, Koprivova A, Schulze-Lefert P, Radutoiu S. Root nodule symbiosis in Lotus japonicus drives the establishment of distinctive rhizosphere, root, and nodule bacterial communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2016;113(49):E7996-8005. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/113/49/E7996.short ). As roots grow, they incorporate organic deposits (dead cells + organic compounds) at the rhizosphere level, resulting in rhizodeposition that modifies the structure and population composition of bacteria. Consequently, the diversity of the phyla Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria is reduced (3232. Zgadzaj R, Garrido-Oter R, Jensen DB, Koprivova A, Schulze-Lefert P, Radutoiu S. Root nodule symbiosis in Lotus japonicus drives the establishment of distinctive rhizosphere, root, and nodule bacterial communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2016;113(49):E7996-8005. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/113/49/E7996.short ).

Bacteria are attracted to their host by cells of the rhizodermis, rhizodeposits and the mucilage that is exuded at the end of the roots. This mucilage is composed of organic and inorganic acids, siderophores, vitamins, amino acids, purines and nucleosides, but there are some compounds in particular: flavonoids and isoflavonoids, which are mainly responsible for attracting bacteria to the plant (3333. Ferguson BJ, Indrasumunar A, Hayashi S, Lin M-H, Lin Y-H, Reid DE, et al. Molecular analysis of legume nodule development and autoregulation. Journal of integrative plant biology [Internet]. 2010;52(1):61-76. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.17447909.2010.00899.x ,3434. Sprent JI, Ardley J, James EK. Biogeography of nodulated legumes and their nitrogen‐fixing symbionts. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2017;215(1):40-56. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.14474 ). Upon sensing the signal, Rhs begin to secrete a lipo-chito-oligosaccharide (LCO) mediated by Nod factors (NF) (3535. Dénarié J, Debellé F, Promé J-C. Rhizobium lipo-chitooligosaccharide nodulation factors: signaling molecules mediating recognition and morphogenesis. Annual review of biochemistry [Internet]. 1996;65(1):503-35. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.bi.65.070196.002443 -3737. Persson T, Battenberg K, Demina IV, Vigil-Stenman T, Vanden Heuvel B, Pujic P, et al. Candidatus Frankia datiscae Dg1, the actinobacterial microsymbiont of Datisca glomerata, expresses the canonical nod genes nodABC in symbiosis with its host plant. PloS one [Internet]. 2015;10(5):e0127630. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127630 ). In the case of Rhs, LCO interacts with host-emitted hydrolases NFH1 and CHIT5 to prepare for contact with the plant cell membrane (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ).

For their part, Rhs colonize the plant mainly by a tubular infection that forms after the root hairs fold into a loop, although to a lesser extent, they can also gain access through wounds, or through intercellular spaces independently of Nod factors (3131. Sprent JI, James EK. Legume evolution: where do nodules and mycorrhizas fit in? Plant physiology [Internet]. 2007;144(2):575-81. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/144/2/575/6106716?login=true ).

Therefore, the colonization process of Rhs in their host goes through several progressive stages, ranging from initial signaling, host range restriction, bacterial colonization, autoregulation of nodule number (AON), bacterial maturation, symbiosome formation, development of nodule metabolism, and transport until the final phase of senescence begins (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ,3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ).

Proper bacteria-host chemical communication depends on Nod factors and proper coupling with plant membrane receptors. This process is key to trigger colonization, which subsequently results in a change in the calcium gradient in the nuclear membrane of the plant cell, which will be explained later.

The microsymbiont: the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

 

AMF are organisms that initiate their life cycle from a propagule that can be a spore, a fragment of hyphae or a colonized root. The propagule germinates stimulated by signals derived from the potential host, although it can also germinate in the absence of these. A germinating hyphae is produced and begins to grow in search of a host, and when it finds it, it adheres to the cortex walls of the finest roots (secondary or tertiary) producing a support structure called an appressorium. Subsequently, it penetrates the interior of the cortex without crossing the central cylinder and colonizes the plant intracellularly and extracellularly. Upon accessing the cells, it crosses the cell wall, but not the plasma membrane, a retraction of the cytoplasm occurs and the hyphae begin to branch to form arbuscules, which are the exchange structures between the fungus and its host.

In most AMF species vesicles are produced which are reserve structures (3939. Solís-Ramos LY, Andrade-Torres A. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in tropical ecosystems towards its management? Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal [Internet]. 2020;24(4):152-5. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/343322429_Arbuscular_Mycorrhizal_Fungi_in_Tropical_Ecosystems_Towards_it s_Management_Mini_Review/links/5f22ff91a6fdcccc4399dfc9/Arbuscular-Mycorrhizal-Fungi-inTropical-Ecosystems-Towards-its-Management-Mini-Review.pdf ); however, vesicles are not present in all AMF species, some such as those belonging to the Gigasporacea family may instead form structures called auxiliary cells, but in the external mycelium and are recognized to have similar function to vesicles. AMF are obligate symbionts and therefore require a host to complete their life cycle. When they find one, they reproduce rapidly and it is even known that they share several hosts at the same time through a connective network of extraradical mycelium, so their functional diversity is high and allows them to have great adaptability to diverse environmental conditions (4040. Croll D, Giovannetti M, Koch AM, Sbrana C, Ehinger M, Lammers PJ, et al. Nonself vegetative fusion and genetic exchange in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2009;181(4):924-37. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02726.x ,4141. den Bakker HC, VanKuren NW, Morton JB, Pawlowska TE. Clonality and recombination in the life history of an asexual arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus. Molecular Biology and Evolution [Internet]. 2010;27(11):2474-86. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/27/11/2474/1127206?login=true ).

The fungus invaginates the internal cortical cells, where it produces an extensive ramification becoming a structure that entirely fills the cortical cells (4242. Paszkowski U. A journey through signaling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses 2006. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;172(1):35-46. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01840.x ). Consequently, the architecture of the host cell changes: the nucleus moves from a peripheral to a central position, the vacuole begins to fragment, and an extensive periarbuscular membrane is synthesized continuously to the plasma membrane (4343. Harrison MJ. Molecular and cellular aspects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annual review of plant biology [Internet]. 1999;50(1):361-89. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.arplant.50.1.361 ). Despite the intense activity of both symbionts allowing the formation of arbuscules in the cells, they collapse after several days, leaving the cortical cell intact and ready to host a new arbuscule (4242. Paszkowski U. A journey through signaling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses 2006. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;172(1):35-46. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01840.x ).

There are several situations that occur in the symbiont-plant relationship, one of them is when the host has sufficient availability of nutrients, in this case, the vesicles store carbon structures as a means of survival being very similar in function to the polyhydroxybutyrate granules that are present in the Rhs (4444. Johnson NC, Rowland DL, Corkidi L, Egerton-Warburton LM, Allen EB. Nitrogen enrichment alters mycorrhizal allocation at five mesic to semiarid grasslands. Ecology [Internet]. 2003;84(7):1895-908. Available from: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/00129658(2003)084[1895:NEAMAA]2.0.CO;2 ,4545. Johnson NC. Resource stoichiometry elucidates the structure and function of arbuscular mycorrhizas across scales. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2010;185(3):631-47. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.03110.x ). Such is the case of phosphorus, since the plant inactivates phosphorus transporter genes when there is a high availability of this nutrient (4646. Maherali H, Klironomos JN. Influence of phylogeny on fungal community assembly and ecosystem functioning. science [Internet]. 2007;316(5832):1746-8. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1143082 ).

On the other hand, it has been found that arbuscules provide a greater amount of phosphorus to tissues that provide a greater amount of carbon. The above described indicates that there may be a self-regulation mechanism on the part of the plant. It has been found that molecules such as lysophosphatidylcholine (LPc) could help the host to perceive the concentration of phosphorus in the soil; however, further research is needed in this regard, since it is not well described in comparison to what happens with Rhs (4747. Denison RF, Kiers ET. Life histories of symbiotic rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi. Current Biology [Internet]. 2011;21(18):R775-85. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211006634 ).

Another of the less explored characteristics of AMF is that they have the ability to protect host roots from pathogenic hyphae, since they grow about 100 times faster than root hairs, which allows them to colonize the root area more rapidly. Such is the case of the Glomeraceae family, whose species have shown high tolerance to Fusarium sp. and Pythium sp. (4646. Maherali H, Klironomos JN. Influence of phylogeny on fungal community assembly and ecosystem functioning. science [Internet]. 2007;316(5832):1746-8. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1143082 ), it is also possible that there is a molecular mechanism of symbiotic interaction still unexplored. This is in addition to many other studies focused on quantifying the tolerance to diverse pathogens such as: Alternaria, Fusarium, Phytophthora, Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Verticillium, bacteria such as Ralstonia solanacearum and Pseudomonas syringae, nematodes of the genera Pratylenchus and Meloidogyne) and even insects such as Otiorhynchus sulcatus (4848. Garcia-Garrido JM, Ocampo JA. Effect of VA mycorrhizal infection of tomato on damage caused by Pseudomonas syringae. Soil Biology and Biochemistry [Internet]. 1989;21(1):165-7. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0038071789900278 -5252. Jung SC, Martinez-Medina A, Lopez-Raez JA, Pozo MJ. Mycorrhiza-induced resistance and priming of plant defenses. Journal of chemical ecology [Internet]. 2012;38(6):651-64. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22623151/ ).

Regarding the AMF colonization in their host, it is important to point out that their propagules are stimulated by flavonoids and isoflavonoids from plants, as is the case with Rhs; however, AMF are also stimulated by sesquiterpenes such as strigolactones, which stimulate the branching of germinating hyphae (5353. Akiyama K, Matsuzaki K, Hayashi H. Plant sesquiterpenes induce hyphal branching in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Nature [Internet]. 2005;435(7043):824-7. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03608 ). Flavonoids and isoflavonoids secreted by plants activate the germination process and hyphal growth; and for their part, AMF begin to secrete a lipo-chito-oligosaccharide (LCO) mediated by Myc factors (3535. Dénarié J, Debellé F, Promé J-C. Rhizobium lipo-chitooligosaccharide nodulation factors: signaling molecules mediating recognition and morphogenesis. Annual review of biochemistry [Internet]. 1996;65(1):503-35. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.bi.65.070196.002443 -3737. Persson T, Battenberg K, Demina IV, Vigil-Stenman T, Vanden Heuvel B, Pujic P, et al. Candidatus Frankia datiscae Dg1, the actinobacterial microsymbiont of Datisca glomerata, expresses the canonical nod genes nodABC in symbiosis with its host plant. PloS one [Internet]. 2015;10(5):e0127630. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127630 ) and a short-chain chitin oligomer or chito-oligosaccharide (COS) (5454. Genre A, Chabaud M, Balzergue C, Puech‐Pagès V, Novero M, Rey T, et al. Short‐chain chitin oligomers from arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi trigger nuclear Ca2+ spiking in Medicago truncatula roots and their production is enhanced by strigolactone. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2013;198(1):190-202. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.12146 ).

In response to Myc factors, ENOD11 gene has been reported in plants as responsible for encoding lysine-rich proteins in the membrane, thus, in a way, plants are also primed to receive AMF (5555. Andriankaja A, Boisson-Dernier A, Frances L, Sauviac L, Jauneau A, Barker DG, et al. AP2-ERF transcription factors mediate Nod factor-dependent Mt ENOD11 activation in root hairs via a novel cis-regulatory motif. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2007;19(9):2866-85. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/19/9/2866/6092340?login=true ). In addition, as will be discussed later, ENOD gene has some relationship with Rhs.

Other genes have been identified as necessary to induce the formation of the perihaustorial membrane appressorium such as the DMI2 and DMI3 genes (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ). Similarly, an orthologous gene related to penetration, called STE12, has been found in pathogenic fungi (Magnaphorte oryzae and Colletotrichum inemuthianum) (5656. Heupel S, Roser B, Kuhn H, Lebrun M-H, Villalba F, Requena N. Erl1, a novel era-like GTPase from Magnaporthe oryzae, is required for full root virulence and is conserved in the mutualistic symbiont Glomus intraradices. Molecular plant-microbe interactions [Internet]. 2010;23(1):67-81. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-23-1-0067 ). Finally, plant genes coding for phosphorus transporters (PT3 and PT4) are known to be responsible for associating with hyphae, in addition to a gene called Gmar-CuZnSOD coding for superoxide dismutase, which provides the plant with tolerance to oxidative stress (5757. Lanfranco L, Novero M, Bonfante P. The mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora margarita possesses a CuZn superoxide dismutase that is up-regulated during symbiosis with legume hosts. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2005;137(4):1319-30. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/137/4/1319/6112689?login=true ).

The macrosymbiont: the plant host and the mechanism of colonization

 

In this section, a general account of what has been described for the mechanism of colonization by Rhs will be made, since, although it has been described for AMF, studies related to genes involved and their regulation are still lacking. However, in the next section, similarities between both colonization pathways will be addressed.

The role played by the plant host is crucial in the attraction of Rhs and AMF, as well as in the acceptance and maintenance of the microorganisms, since the symbionts benefit from carbon sources produced by the plant, mainly sucrose, hexoses, and starch, in a kind of "mutual trade" between Rhs-AMF-plant (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ,3939. Solís-Ramos LY, Andrade-Torres A. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in tropical ecosystems towards its management? Agricultural Research & Technology: Open Access Journal [Internet]. 2020;24(4):152-5. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura-Solis-Ramos/publication/343322429_Arbuscular_Mycorrhizal_Fungi_in_Tropical_Ecosystems_Towards_it s_Management_Mini_Review/links/5f22ff91a6fdcccc4399dfc9/Arbuscular-Mycorrhizal-Fungi-inTropical-Ecosystems-Towards-its-Management-Mini-Review.pdf ,4242. Paszkowski U. A journey through signaling in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses 2006. New Phytologist [Internet]. 2006;172(1):35-46. Available from: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01840.x ,5858. Ferguson BJ, Mens C, Hastwell AH, Zhang M, Su H, Jones CH, et al. Legume nodulation: The host controls the party. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):41-51. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13348 ).

First, it is important to describe how the plant carries out the process of attracting the bacteria, giving way to the pre-colonization or presymbiotic phase; in this step the CHS, CHR, FNS and IFS genes are related, which are responsible for producing flavonoids and isoflavonoids by the plant (5959. Wasson AP, Pellerone FI, Mathesius U. Silencing the flavonoid pathway in Medicago truncatula inhibits root nodule formation and prevents auxin transport regulation by rhizobia. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2006;18(7):1617-29. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/18/7/1617/6115313?login=true -6161. Subramanian S, Stacey G, Yu O. Endogenous isoflavones are essential for the establishment of symbiosis between soybean and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The Plant Journal [Internet]. 2006;48(2):261-73. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365313X.2006.02874.x ). Some researchers show evidence that the isoflavones genistein and diadzein produced by Glycine max and Phaseolus vulgaris induce the activation of Nod genes in very species-specific symbiont bacteria, such as Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Rhizobium leguminosarum bv phaseoli (6262. Bolaños-Vásquez MC, Werner D. Effects of Rhizobium tropici, R. etli and R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli on nod gene-inducing flavonoids in root exudates of Phaseolus vulgaris. Molecular plantmicrobe interactions [Internet]. 1997;10(3):339-46. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.1997.10.3.339 ).

Once the plant perceives the Nod factors in the membrane, genes are activated that induce the degradation of the cell wall and the folding of the root hairs so that the Rhs can lodge and the colonization tube is formed; the following genes have been identified in this process: NPL, FLOT2, FLOT4 and SYMREM1 (6363. Xie F, Murray JD, Kim J, Heckmann AB, Edwards A, Oldroyd GE, et al. Legume pectate lyase required for root infection by rhizobia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2012;109(2):633-8. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/109/2/633.short -6565. Lefebvre B, Timmers T, Mbengue M, Moreau S, Hervé C, Tóth K, et al. A remorin protein interacts with symbiotic receptors and regulates bacterial infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(5):2343-8. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/5/2343.short ).

After the stimulus of the Nod genes and the folding of root hairs, the plant host perceives the signal in the membrane receptors. These receptors are encoded by the genes of orthologous pairs LjNFR1/MtLYK3 and LjNFR5/MtNFP, which are receptor kinases with three extracellular domains of lysine (LysM) in which they form a homo and heteromeric complex between the cell membrane and the colonization membrane (6666. Haney CH, Riely BK, Tricoli DM, Cook DR, Ehrhardt DW, Long SR. Symbiotic rhizobia bacteria trigger a change in localization and dynamics of the Medicago truncatula receptor kinase LYK3. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2011;23(7):2774-87. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/23/7/2774/6097218?login=true -6868. Moling S, Pietraszewska-Bogiel A, Postma M, Fedorova E, Hink MA, Limpens E, et al. Nod factor receptors form heteromeric complexes and are essential for intracellular infection in Medicago nodules. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2014;26(10):4188-99. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/26/10/4188/6101576?login=true ). According to the above, communication with the factors coming from the bacteria takes place through the LCO complex, in addition to the union with the NFH1/CHIT5 hydrolases; this interaction is the entry point to trigger an internal signaling complex in the host, which initiates the infection of Rhs and in a second step to organogenesis.

In addition, related to the perception of the signal, it has been recorded that plant hormones have an important role, since they interact with Nod factors and subsequent processes. Such is the case of brassinosteroids with the BRI1 gene and strigolactones with the CCD7 gene, which collaborate in the progression of colonization by rhizobia, as well as cytokinins and auxins that initiate the process of organogenesis. Cytokinins are directly related to the TF NSP2 and auxins to the ARF16a gene, responsible for the positive regulation of the colonization process (6969. Liu H, Zhang C, Yang J, Yu N, Wang E. Hormone modulation of legume‐rhizobial symbiosis. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology [Internet]. 2018;60(8):632-48. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jipb.12653 -7272. Ariel F, Brault-Hernandez M, Laffont C, Huault E, Brault M, Plet J, et al. Two direct targets of cytokinin signaling regulate symbiotic nodulation in Medicago truncatula. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2012;24(9):3838-52. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/24/9/3838/6100604?login=true ). Other very important genes that have been shown to reduce colonization and the amount of nodules when silenced are those related to gibberellins, these genes encode for DELLA proteins and these proteins, in turn, interact with the TFs IPD3 and NSP2, necessary for the transcription of NIN (nodule initiation) (6969. Liu H, Zhang C, Yang J, Yu N, Wang E. Hormone modulation of legume‐rhizobial symbiosis. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology [Internet]. 2018;60(8):632-48. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jipb.12653 ).

After the reception of the signal in the plant membrane, a calcium gradient is induced in the nuclear membrane, which reduces the cation entry potential. It has been reported that calcium channels (LjCASTOR, LjPOLLUX/MtDMI1), MtCNGC a/b/c and its orthologue LjBRUSH, as well as nucleoporins (LjNUP85 and LjNUP133) are affected. This leads to the MtDMI3/CCaMK kinase and the transcription factors LjCYCLOPS/MtIPD3 regulating the positive expression of the NIN gene, in conjunction with two other transcription factors called NSP1 and NSP2, found in M. truncatula (2222. Kim G-B, Son S-U, Yu H-J, Mun J-H. MtGA2ox10 encoding C20-GA2-oxidase regulates rhizobial infection and nodule development in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2019;9(1):1-13. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42407-3 ,7373. Charpentier M, Bredemeier R, Wanner G, Takeda N, Schleiff E, Parniske M. Lotus japonicus CASTOR and POLLUX are ion channels essential for perinuclear calcium spiking in legume root endosymbiosis. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2008;20(12):3467-79. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/20/12/3467/6092747?login=true ,7474. Groth M, Takeda N, Perry J, Uchida H, Dräxl S, Brachmann A, et al. NENA, a Lotus japonicus homolog of Sec13, is required for rhizodermal infection by arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi and rhizobia but dispensable for cortical endosymbiotic development. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2010;22(7):2509-26. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/22/7/2509/6096023?login=true ). NIN, together with the NF-YA and NF-YB genes, are of great importance because they are the starting signal for organogenesis and nodule proliferation to begin (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ).

The plant has mechanisms to accept symbionts, but also emits a slight defense reaction trying to reject them (7575. Bapaume L, Reinhardt D. How membranes shape plant symbioses: signaling and transport in nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhiza. Frontiers in Plant Science [Internet]. 2012;3:223. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2012.00223/full ), this reaction has been found to be very similar to the one that occurs before a pathogenic affectation and, consequently, many common genes are activated. Such is the case of Sinorhizobium meliloti that has the capacity to induce genes in the host, similar to those activated by the plant when it is attacked by Pseudomonas syringae (2626. Bozsó Z, Maunoury N, Szatmari A, Mergaert P, Ott PG, Zsíros LR, et al. Transcriptome analysis of a bacterially induced basal and hypersensitive response of Medicago truncatula. Plant molecular biology [Internet]. 2009;70(6):627-46. Available from: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/46335421/s11103-009-9496-820160608-1847i5rbjk.pdf?1465381657=&response-contentdisposition=inline%3B+filename%3DTranscriptome_analysis_of_a_bacterially.pdf&Expires=1637981832&Signature=aeoaEBCzv8zj58xJM0o4sYtIYNXTA-ToUh7sY6BR1UBVterlBMLVypqejVHJyV-F-dZ4SpcQHOOgo4bchiNK4k5ZkJiwbrLMHcTqIRYjngcIvYPydWGNnWpG8Fq2J-SgrU6laJ5ySma0kmp4SUYquIxqDRyDgfYuqBW~wLGBhCZcr55SqmAXRsBgbqCohU1Ub1~8f4QeSW6V1IKHLF5-8qsAAVRQp2Zr4io7yZcCYVH2ooRiPGu5v89pn-o0tmZ4VlPnW12JNtONCpn1-nD1qYs9yiUDn~~6-1sk12X7xGkjmFeoQlDGfO4yqOuRsREByVtPtQvoxw4foIkubuA__&Key-PairId=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA ). What happens at the molecular level is that complexes of defense kinase receptor, such as LRR-RLKs and LysM-RLKs, recognize Rhs molecules while producing NBS-LRR-like proteins to neutralize the bacteria (7676. Cao Y, Halane MK, Gassmann W, Stacey G. The role of plant innate immunity in the legume-rhizobium symbiosis. Annual review of plant biology [Internet]. 2017;68:535-61. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-arplant-042916-041030 ). Some genes in the NBS-LRR group, such as Rj2, Rfg1, and Rj4 are associated with host restriction to a range of bacteria, because they code for family five pathogenesis-associated proteins (7777. Yang S, Tang F, Gao M, Krishnan HB, Zhu H. R gene-controlled host specificity in the legume- rhizobia symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(43):18735-40. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/43/18735.short ,7878. Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H. Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2016;170(1):26-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/170/1/26/6114002?login=true ).

In the case of Rhs, nodules cannot grow indefinitely, which is why the host tries to regulate the amount and timing of colonization. At least five main endogenous and exogenous factors that control nodulation have been identified, which, in one way or another, are related. In the first instance, there is a mechanism specific to the host called "autoregulation system (AON)", mediated by a signaling complex induced by bacteria. Also the amount of nitrogen available in the soil can influence, the presence of ethylene in the rhizosphere, the pH of the soil (mainly acid) and several biotic/abiotic factors, which can cause stress for the host plant and, consequently, produce fewer nodules by a reduction effect of carbon sources in the sink (5858. Ferguson BJ, Mens C, Hastwell AH, Zhang M, Su H, Jones CH, et al. Legume nodulation: The host controls the party. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):41-51. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13348 ). In the case of the AON mechanism, the CLE1 and CLE2 peptides in M. truncatula, their counterparts RIC 1 and RIC 2 in G. max and P. vulgaris or CLE-RS1 and CLE-RS2 in Lotus japonicus, are responsible for sending a signal to the plant stem to regulate the number of nodules. In this plant organ, a receptor complex is formed with the peptide to trigger a signal that is sent back to the roots to curb the number of symbiotic nodules (7979. Ferguson BJ, Li D, Hastwell AH, Reid DE, Li Y, Jackson SA, et al. The soybean (Glycine max) nodulation‐suppressive CLE peptide, Gm RIC 1, functions interspecifically in common white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), but not in a supernodulating line mutated in the receptor Pv NARK. Plant Biotechnology Journal [Internet]. 2014;12(8):1085-97. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pbi.12216 -8282. Reid DE, Ferguson BJ, Gresshoff PM. Inoculation-and nitrate-induced CLE peptides of soybean control NARK-dependent nodule formation. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2011;24(5):606-18. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-09-10-0207 ).

The shared colonization mechanism

 

To understand the process of colonization, development and reproduction of Rhs, we initially worked with mutants that nodulated little or not at all. In these experiments, the idea was to evaluate the behavior of the plant host in the absence or expression of one or several genes (8383. Harrison MJ. Signaling in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. [Internet]. 2005;59:19-42. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123749 ). In this type of experiment, the activity and colonization capacity of AMF were affected. This led the researchers to think that, in some way, the mechanism by which microsymbionts made their way was more than anatomical-physiological and their origin could be found at the molecular level (8383. Harrison MJ. Signaling in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. [Internet]. 2005;59:19-42. Available from: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123749 -8585. Senoo K, Solaiman MZ, Kawaguchi M, Imaizumi-Anraku H, Akao S, Tanaka A, et al. Isolation of two different phenotypes of mycorrhizal mutants in the model legume plant Lotus japonicus after EMStreatment. Plant and Cell Physiology [Internet]. 2000;41(6):726-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pcp/article/41/6/726/1923261?login=true ). It was to be expected to find common genes since these symbiont microorganisms share a very similar mechanism of entry into the plant in the state prior to entering their host, which is separated by a highly specialized perisymbiotic membrane (8686. Provorov NA, Borisov AY, Tikhonovich IA. Developmental genetics and evolution of symbiotic structures in nitrogen-fixing nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza. Journal of Theoretical Biology [Internet]. 2002;214(2):215-32. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022519301924531 ). In Rhs a structure called the symbiosome is formed (8787. Roth LE, Stacey G. Bacterium release into host cells of nitrogen-fixing soybean nodules: the symbiosome membrane comes from three sources. European journal of cell biology [Internet]. 1989;49(1):13-23. Available from: https://europepmc.org/article/med/2759097 ) and in AMF it is known as the perihaustorial membrane, which surrounds the arbuscules (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ). It is through these membranes that nutrient exchange with the host occurs (8888. Day DA, Kaiser BN, Thomson R, Udvardi MK, Moreau S, Puppo A. Nutrient transport across symbiotic membranes from legume nodules. Functional Plant Biology [Internet]. 2001;28(7):669-76. Available from: https://www.publish.csiro.au/fp/pp01028 ,8989. Parniske M. Intracellular accommodation of microbes by plants: a common developmental program for symbiosis and disease? Current opinion in plant biology [Internet]. 2000;3(4):320-8. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369526600000881 ). The HA1 and ANN2 genes have been found in the model plant Medicago truncatula to be responsible for acidifying the perisymbiotic and perihaustorial membrane, probably to facilitate cross transport between host-symbiont in the case of HA1 and ANN2 as an inducer of the nodulation primordium, as well as cells containing arbuscules (9090. Manthey K, Krajinski F, Hohnjec N, Firnhaber C, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. Transcriptome profiling in root nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza identifies a collection of novel genes induced during Medicago truncatula root endosymbioses. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2004;17(10):1063-77. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2004.17.10.1063 ) (Figure 1).

Authors' own creation
Figure 1.  Responsible genes for acidifying the perisymbiotic and perihaustorial membrane (ANN2 and Ha1) and responsible genes for transporting glucose (Sweet1 and Sweet3) and hydrolyzing sucrose (Sus1 and Sus3).

Regarding the transport of carbon sources from the host to the symbionts, it has been found in Medicago truncatula that Sus1 and Sus3 are genes present in both AMF and Rhs, which encode for sucrose synthase, whose responsibility is to hydrolyze sources such as sucrose and starch (9191. Hohnjec N, Perlick AM, Pühler A, Küster H. The Medicago truncatula sucrose synthase gene MtSucS1 is activated both in the infected region of root nodules and in the cortex of roots colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2003;16(10):903-15. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2003.16.10.903 ). In the case of AMF, the SWEET1b gene is expressed, which encodes for a glucose transporter from the host to the periarbuscular membrane, which becomes an important factor for intraradical mycelial growth as well as bacterial proliferation (Figure 1). SWEET genes have even been identified in pathogenic fungi and bacteria (9292. Chen L-Q, Hou B-H, Lalonde S, Takanaga H, Hartung ML, Qu X-Q, et al. Sugar transporters for intercellular exchange and nutrition of pathogens. Nature [Internet]. 2010;468(7323):527-32. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09606 ).

Although the mechanism by which AMF and Rhs structures develop are distinct, in the initial process of perception, colonization, and the subsequent signal translation complex that initiates nodulation and mycorrhization in legumes, they are very similar and may even overlap. Genes that are shared at the level of the colonization process are referred to as common SYM genes (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ), alluding to the process of symbiosis. Some researchers have summarized at least seven SYM genes (SYMRK, CASTOR, POLLUX, SYM3, SYM6, SYM15, and SYM24), including receptor kinases, putative protein channels, and nucleoporins, which are necessary for entry into the plant epidermis in both symbionts (9393. Imaizumi-Anraku H, Takeda N, Charpentier M, Perry J, Miwa H, Umehara Y, et al. Plastid proteins crucial for symbiotic fungal and bacterial entry into plant roots. Nature [Internet]. 2005;433(7025):527-31. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03237 -9595. Kanamori N, Madsen LH, Radutoiu S, Frantescu M, Quistgaard EM, Miwa H, et al. A nucleoporin is required for induction of Ca2+ spiking in legume nodule development and essential for rhizobial and fungal symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2006;103(2):359-64. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/103/2/359.short ). NUP85 and CYCLOPS have also been reported (1616. Parniske M. Arbuscular mycorrhiza: the mother of plant root endosymbioses. Nature Reviews Microbiology [Internet]. 2008;6(10):763-75. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro1987 ). In crops other than legumes, such as rice (Oryza sativa L.), common genes for Rhs and HMA have also been reported, such as CASTOR, POLLUX, DMI3/CCaMK, and CYCLOPS (9696. Gutjahr C, Banba M, Croset V, An K, Miyao A, An G, et al. Arbuscular mycorrhiza-specific signaling in rice transcends the common symbiosis signaling pathway. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2008;20(11):2989-3005. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/20/11/2989/6092513?login=true ) (Figure 2).

Own sourceRoute shared by Rhs and AMF colonization.
Figure 2.  Genes encoding for calcium transporters (CASTOR, POLLUX/DM1, NUP85, NUP133, NENA) within the plant cell nucleus and induction of a cation gradient.

Although there are SYM genes shared by Rhs and AMF, it is important to note that both symbionts developed different ways to colonize their host. In the case of Rhs, they form a tube that penetrates the cells and in the case of AMF a pre-penetration apparatus or appressorium. Some researchers suggest that the appressorium is related to transcriptional factors of the ENOD11 and ENOD12 genes that, in turn, are induced by Rhs (9797. Genre A, Bonfante P. Building a mycorrhizal cell: how to reach compatibility between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2005;1(1):3-13. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140500318986 ). Subsequently, other researchers found that ENODs are key for colonization and organogenesis in Rhs and are regulated by ERN1 (ethylene response factor required for nodulation 1) (5555. Andriankaja A, Boisson-Dernier A, Frances L, Sauviac L, Jauneau A, Barker DG, et al. AP2-ERF transcription factors mediate Nod factor-dependent Mt ENOD11 activation in root hairs via a novel cis-regulatory motif. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2007;19(9):2866-85. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/19/9/2866/6092340?login=true ).

On the other hand, both symbionts, as mentioned above, require communication with host roots in order to develop the symbiotic process. In this communication, it was mentioned that the Nod (in Rhs) and Myc (in AMF) genes are activated, which produce LCOs and LCOs+COS, respectively. Some mycorrhiza-forming fungi such as Rhizophagus irregularis produce sulfated LCOs very similar to the LCOs emitted by the Nod factors of the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti in the plant M. truncatula. This causes, in parallel, the plant to "believe" that it will be colonized by Rhs, when in fact it will be by an AMF, thus causing curvature of root hairs and proliferation of lateral roots (3636. Maillet F, Poinsot V, André O, Puech-Pagès V, Haouy A, Gueunier M, et al. Fungal lipochitooligosaccharide symbiotic signals in arbuscular mycorrhiza. Nature [Internet]. 2011;469(7328):58-63. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09622 ). At the molecular level, this event triggers the legume to activate the NSP1 (Nodulation Signaling Pathway) transcription factor required for nodulation and the RAM1 (Required for Arbuscular Mycorrhization) gene required for AMF colonization (9898. Gobbato E, Marsh JF, Vernié T, Wang E, Maillet F, Kim J, et al. A GRAS-type transcription factor with a specific function in mycorrhizal signaling. Current Biology [Internet]. 2012;22(23):2236-41. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982212011463 ,9999. Charpentier M, Sun J, Martins TV, Radhakrishnan GV, Findlay K, Soumpourou E, et al. Nuclearlocalized cyclic nucleotide-gated channels mediate symbiotic calcium oscillations. Science [Internet]. 2016;352(6289):1102-5. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aae0109 ) (Figure 3).

Although there are SYM genes shared by Rhs and AMF, it is important to note that both symbionts developed different ways to colonize their host. In the case of Rhs, they form a tube that penetrates the cells and in the case of AMF a pre-penetration apparatus or appressorium. Some researchers suggest that the appressorium is related to transcriptional factors of the ENOD11 and ENOD12 genes which, in turn, are induced by Rhs (9797. Genre A, Bonfante P. Building a mycorrhizal cell: how to reach compatibility between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2005;1(1):3-13. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140500318986 ). Subsequently, other researchers found that ENODs are key for colonization and organogenesis in Rhs and are regulated by ERN1 (ethylene response factor required for nodulation 1) (5555. Andriankaja A, Boisson-Dernier A, Frances L, Sauviac L, Jauneau A, Barker DG, et al. AP2-ERF transcription factors mediate Nod factor-dependent Mt ENOD11 activation in root hairs via a novel cis-regulatory motif. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2007;19(9):2866-85. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/19/9/2866/6092340?login=true ).

On the other hand, both symbionts, as mentioned above, require communication with host roots in order to develop the symbiotic process. In this communication, it was mentioned that the Nod (in Rhs) and Myc (in AMF) genes are activated, which produce LCOs and LCOs+COS, respectively. Some mycorrhiza-forming fungi such as Rhizophagus irregularis produce sulfated LCOs very similar to the LCOs emitted by the Nod factors of the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti in the plant M. truncatula. This causes, in parallel, the plant to "believe" that it will be colonized by Rhs, when in fact it will be by an AMF, thus causing curvature of root hairs and proliferation of lateral roots (3636. Maillet F, Poinsot V, André O, Puech-Pagès V, Haouy A, Gueunier M, et al. Fungal lipochitooligosaccharide symbiotic signals in arbuscular mycorrhiza. Nature [Internet]. 2011;469(7328):58-63. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09622 ). At the molecular level, this event triggers the legume to activate the NSP1 (Nodulation Signaling Pathway) transcription factor required for nodulation and the RAM1 (Required for Arbuscular Mycorrhization) gene required for AMF colonization (9898. Gobbato E, Marsh JF, Vernié T, Wang E, Maillet F, Kim J, et al. A GRAS-type transcription factor with a specific function in mycorrhizal signaling. Current Biology [Internet]. 2012;22(23):2236-41. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982212011463 ,9999. Charpentier M, Sun J, Martins TV, Radhakrishnan GV, Findlay K, Soumpourou E, et al. Nuclearlocalized cyclic nucleotide-gated channels mediate symbiotic calcium oscillations. Science [Internet]. 2016;352(6289):1102-5. Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aae0109 ) (Figure 3).

Author's own sourceA: in the first case, NIN activation is arranged to continue colonization and organogenesis of the nodules B: in the second case, hyphal branching is promoted
Figure 3.  Induction of plant host acceptance mechanism upon exposure to Rhs and AMF.

Another mechanism of perception of the external signal and that, in addition, interacts with the Nod/Myc factors is carried out by hormones, such is the case of brassinosteroids, with the BRI1 gene and strigolactones with the CCD7 gene, which are implicated in the signaling of the symbiosis between Rhs/AMF (6969. Liu H, Zhang C, Yang J, Yu N, Wang E. Hormone modulation of legume‐rhizobial symbiosis. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology [Internet]. 2018;60(8):632-48. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jipb.12653 ,7070. Cheng X, Gou X, Yin H, Mysore KS, Li J, Wen J. Functional characterisation of brassinosteroid receptor MtBRI1 in Medicago truncatula. Scientific reports [Internet]. 2017;7(1):1-12. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09297-9 ). DELLA proteins, related to gibberellins, are also involved in the regulation of negative gene expression induced by Nod factors for Rhs/AM and this is manifested by their close relationship with TFs IPD3 and NSP2 (100100. Jin Y, Liu H, Luo D, Yu N, Dong W, Wang C, et al. DELLA proteins are common components of symbiotic rhizobial and mycorrhizal signalling pathways. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2016;7(1):1-14. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12433?origin=ppub ). At the host receptor level, the plant membrane receptors LjNFR1/MtLYK3 and LjNFR5/MtNFP sense the stimulus of Nod factors. However, there is a third gene coding for a similar type of receptor called LjSYMRK and its ortholog MtDMI2. The latter fulfill the same function, since they are of the SYM type, which means that they are able to perceive the stimulus of both AMFs and Rhs (Figure 4) (101101. Endre G, Kereszt A, Kevei Z, Mihacea S, Kaló P, Kiss GB. A receptor kinase gene regulating symbiotic nodule development. Nature [Internet]. 2002;417(6892):962-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00842 ,102102. Stracke S, Kistner C, Yoshida S, Mulder L, Sato S, Kaneko T, et al. A plant receptor-like kinase required for both bacterial and fungal symbiosis. Nature [Internet]. 2002;417(6892):959-62. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00841 ). The LjSYMRK/MtDMI2 gene was the first gene found to be common for AMF and Rhs symbiosis. Also the MFR1 and MFR2 receptors are specific to AMF.

Figure 4.  Genes coding for plant receptors involved in the recognition of nodulation and colonization factors in Rhs and AMF.

Once the stimulus is perceived and inside the host cell nucleus, a depolarization of the cell membrane and a change in the flow of ions, especially calcium in the nuclear membrane, is induced. This process was described previously, as mentioned above, the similarity between Rhs and AMF was demonstrated, since the DMI1, and NENA genes, which are shared between Rhs and AMF, modulate calcium. DMI1 is related to a Ca2+ transporter channel and NENA to a nucleoporin transporter protein, both of which affect symbiont infection to the same extent (7474. Groth M, Takeda N, Perry J, Uchida H, Dräxl S, Brachmann A, et al. NENA, a Lotus japonicus homolog of Sec13, is required for rhizodermal infection by arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi and rhizobia but dispensable for cortical endosymbiotic development. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2010;22(7):2509-26. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/22/7/2509/6096023?login=true ). Subsequent to Ca2+ depolarization in Rhs, complex formation occurs in parallel between GRAS proteins as transcription factors (NSP1, NSP2), together with RAM1 and RAM2, which induce the biosynthesis of cutin monomers and are related to the formation of appressoria in AMF (Figure 3).

Another relevant fact that is shared by Rhs and AMF is the presence of specific hormones such as CLE proteins, which mediate cell-cell communication in plants and are clearly identified in M. truncatula, as well as their counterparts in other legume species. Specifically, they are molecules that communicate to shoots to signal roots to stop colonization by bacteria (8080. Mortier V, Den Herder G, Whitford R, Van de Velde W, Rombauts S, D’haeseleer K, et al. CLE peptides control Medicago truncatula nodulation locally and systemically. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2010;153(1):222-37. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/153/1/222/6108407?login=true ,8181. Okamoto S, Ohnishi E, Sato S, Takahashi H, Nakazono M, Tabata S, et al. Nod factor/nitrate-induced CLE genes that drive HAR1-mediated systemic regulation of nodulation. Plant and Cell Physiology [Internet]. 2009;50(1):67-77. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/pcp/article/50/1/67/1851930?login=true ) (Figure 5). However, these peptides are also incorporated into the roots, through AMF, to modulate root architecture, favoring lateral growth and inhibiting apical growth (103103. Wang G, Zhang G, Wu M. CLE peptide signaling and crosstalk with phytohormones and environmental stimuli. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2016;6:1211. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01211/full ). This, in a way, suggests that there may be a direct or indirect involvement in AMF-mediated regulation of Rhs infection, since under conditions of dual colonization, CLE peptides will activate the regulatory mechanism in plants to not allow further colonization.

Author's own creationCLE1 is also incorporated by AMF, resulting in branching of secondary roots
Figure 5.  CLE peptides delivered from nodules to shoots, which in turn activate the AON mechanism to regulate the amount of CLE peptides.

Some investigators report a decrease in the presence of Rhs by AMF inoculation (104104. Ballesteros-Almanza L, Altamirano-Hernandez J, Pena-Cabriales JJ, Santoyo G, Sanchez-Yanez JM, Valencia-Cantero E, et al. Effect of co-inoculation with mycorrhiza and rhizobia on the nodule trehalose content of different bean genotypes. The open microbiology journal [Internet]. 2010;4:83. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3023947/ ). In other studies, on the contrary, the dual infection by inoculation with Rhs/AMF versus individual inoculation has been performed and quantified and it has been found that, although AMF can activate the AON mechanism by means of CLE peptides. They are not enough to reduce the infection by Rhs; in fact, they have even been reduced for hyphae in the tissue of their host and are more efficient when inoculated together with Rhs (2323. Sakamoto K, Ogiwara N, Kaji T, Sugimoto Y, Ueno M, Sonoda M, et al. Transcriptome analysis of soybean (Glycine max) root genes differentially expressed in rhizobial, arbuscular mycorrhizal, and dual symbiosis. Journal of plant research [Internet]. 2019;132(4):541-68. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31165947/ ,105105. González RL, Sosa BN, Díaz RB. Efecto de la aplicación de Rhizobium y Mycorriza en el crecimiento del frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) variedad CC-25-9 negro. Centro Agrícola [Internet]. 2012;39(4):17-20. Available from: http://cagricola.uclv.edu.cu/descargas/pdf/V39-Numero_4/cag044121877.pdf -107107. Tajini F, Trabelsi M, Drevon J-J. Combined inoculation with Glomus intraradices and Rhizobium tropici CIAT899 increases phosphorus use efficiency for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences [Internet]. 2012;19(2):157-63. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X11000726 ). The above described shows how there is not only a regulation of the symbionts by the plant, but also at the level of the microorganisms themselves; however, it is not of sufficient magnitude and they rather coexist with their host.

On the other hand, Rhs have a characteristic and abundant compound: leghemoglobins, whose function is to protect bacteria from oxygen ingress so that nitrogenase can perform biological fixation of atmospheric nitrogen (2121. Li X, Feng H, Wen J, Dong J, Wang T. MtCAS31 aids symbiotic nitrogen fixation by protecting the leghemoglobin MtLb120-1 under drought stress in Medicago truncatula. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2018;9:633. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00633/full ). The VfLb29 gene is responsible for producing the proteins necessary for leghemoglobin. This gene is expressed in the same way when there is AMF infection, due to the fact that the expression of the promoter of a gene that codes for a phosphorus transporter (StPt3), activates the expression of VfLb29 (1818. Manchanda G, Garg N. Endomycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis: How much do they share? Journal of Plant Interactions [Internet]. 2007;2(2):79-88. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17429140701558000 ,108108. Fehlberg V, Vieweg MF, Dohmann EM, Hohnjec N, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. The promoter of the leghaemoglobin gene VfLb29: functional analysis and identification of modules necessary for its activation in the infected cells of root nodules and in the arbuscule-containing cells of mycorrhizal roots. Journal of Experimental Botany [Internet]. 2005;56(413):799-806. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/56/413/799/550015?login=true ).

With the advent of new technologies, such as gene expression studies through the transcriptome, it has been possible to elucidate the genes that are activated or silenced when a plant is colonized by AMF, Rhs, or both. Early studies in this area found 75 genes up-regulated (toward the 5' end) during the dual colonization event (9090. Manthey K, Krajinski F, Hohnjec N, Firnhaber C, Pühler A, Perlick AM, et al. Transcriptome profiling in root nodules and arbuscular mycorrhiza identifies a collection of novel genes induced during Medicago truncatula root endosymbioses. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions [Internet]. 2004;17(10):1063-77. Available from: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI.2004.17.10.1063 ).

Subsequently, other investigators compared differential gene expression profiles (DEGs), and found "upstream/downstream" gene expression (toward the 5'/toward the 3' end), with 288/233 genes being common for AMF and Rhs (2727. Nanjareddy K, Arthikala M-K, Gómez B-M, Blanco L, Lara M. Differentially expressed genes in mycorrhized and nodulated roots of common bean are associated with defense, cell wall architecture, N metabolism, and P metabolism. PloS one [Internet]. 2017;12(8):e0182328. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182328 ). In this study, quantitative gene expression profiles were found at three stages: biological processes (PB), molecular function (MF) and cellular components (CC). Accordingly, in PB, a high frequency of genes related to metabolic processes, energy pathways, signal translation, transport and stress response was obtained; for the FM stage, genes related to enzymes with catalytic activity such as hydrolase, oxidoreductase, protein kinases and transferase activity were found; and finally, for the CC stage, genes for the cell wall and plasma membrane were found. In summary, the genes were grouped into three expression clusters according to the processes involved and it was determined that both AMF and Rhs share genes involved in defense processes, cell wall structure and N and P metabolism (2727. Nanjareddy K, Arthikala M-K, Gómez B-M, Blanco L, Lara M. Differentially expressed genes in mycorrhized and nodulated roots of common bean are associated with defense, cell wall architecture, N metabolism, and P metabolism. PloS one [Internet]. 2017;12(8):e0182328. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182328 ).

Finally, the studies presented here do not necessarily describe the totality of gene expression diversity, as they have been performed on model species and each plant host interacts uniquely with its symbiont(s). In some cases, several plant species have been inoculated with the same AMF and similar metabolic responses have been obtained; this mechanism is known as species-independent. For example, when inoculating several plant species with the fungus Rhizophagus irregularis, a change in the metabolome of between 18-45 % was observed in all inoculated species (109109. French KE. Engineering mycorrhizal symbioses to alter plant metabolism and improve crop health. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2017;8:1403. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01403/full ,110110. Schweiger R, Baier MC, Persicke M, Müller C. High specificity in plant leaf metabolic responses to arbuscular mycorrhiza. Nature Communications [Internet]. 2014;5(1):1-11. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms4886 ). A species-dependent association has also been recorded, i.e., inoculating several plant species with a fungus resulted in a change in the metabolome of only one species (111111. Rivero J, Gamir J, Aroca R, Pozo MJ, Flors V. Metabolic transition in mycorrhizal tomato roots. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2015;6:598. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00598/full ).

Genetic engineering at the forefront of the biotechnological development of AMF and Rhs

 

With the advent of new technologies and tools in the field of genetic engineering, there is a tendency to develop projects in this line, due to the fact that each time a study is published, more questions and possibilities for modifications in numerous fields are opened. With regard to Rhs, it is important to highlight the potential that exists in terms of modifying the acceptance of a bacterium by the plant host.

As mentioned and as described in this paper, genes of the NBS-LRR group, such as Rj2, Rfg1 and Rj4, have been registered and are associated with host restriction to a range of bacteria, because they encode for family 5 proteins associated with pathogenesis (7777. Yang S, Tang F, Gao M, Krishnan HB, Zhu H. R gene-controlled host specificity in the legume- rhizobia symbiosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2010;107(43):18735-40. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/107/43/18735.short ,7878. Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H. Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2016;170(1):26-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/170/1/26/6114002?login=true ) and this is a reason to pay attention to a possible modification of these genes. A group of researchers made the first approaches, using CRISPR/Cas9 to increase colonization of strains incompatible with soybean (Glycine max) (7878. Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H. Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology [Internet]. 2016;170(1):26-32. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/170/1/26/6114002?login=true ).

Another research (112112. Wang Q, Yang S, Liu J, Terecskei K, Ábrahám E, Gombár A, et al. Host-secreted antimicrobial peptide enforces symbiotic selectivity in Medicago truncatula. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Internet]. 2017;114(26):6854-9. Available from: https://www.pnas.org/content/114/26/6854.short ), in which modification of NCR (cysteine-rich nodule) peptides was performed, was reported. These molecules play an important role in Rhs restriction and this allowed M. truncatula to be colonized by a hitherto poorly infective Rhs strain (103103. Wang G, Zhang G, Wu M. CLE peptide signaling and crosstalk with phytohormones and environmental stimuli. Frontiers in plant science [Internet]. 2016;6:1211. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01211/full ). Finally, there is also the possibility of modifying the LjNFR1/MtLYK3 and LjNFR5/MtNFP receptors, as they alter the degree and specificity to which an Rhs species succeeds in colonizing the plant host (113113. Radutoiu S, Madsen LH, Madsen EB, Felle HH, Umehara Y, Grønlund M, et al. Plant recognition of symbiotic bacteria requires two LysM receptor-like kinases. Nature [Internet]. 2003;425(6958):585-92. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02039 ).

The above criteria indicate that there is a possibility that different plant species can be colonized by more than one strain of Rhs, although there may be some specificity between the plant and bacterial genomes, helping to optimize the expression of each gene. Despite the above, a cautious position must also be taken so that the balance towards the plant or ecosystem is always positive, however, it is an interesting line of research.

Another aspect to consider is the use of genetic transformation for transferring genes from one species of Rhs to another, in the search to improve the efficiency of host colonization. The transfer of Nod genes from some bacteria to others has been recorded; for example, from Rhizobium leguminosarum to Rhizobium phaseoli so that the latter colonize peas (Pisum sativum), as well as beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) (114114. Kumaar SA, Babu RP, Vivek P, Saravanan D. Role of Nitrogen Fixers as Biofertilizers in Future Perspective: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology [Internet]. 2020;13(5):2459-67. Available from: https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:rjpt&volume=13&issue=5&article=070 ). This technology also opens the possibility of transferring Nif (nitrogen fixation) genes.

Genetic transformation can be carried out by direct or indirect methods. In this case, the use of indirect methods by means of Agrobacterium would be indicated, due to the fact that it shares many similarities with the Rhs of legumes.

In addition to genetic transformation at the bacterial level, transformation at the host level could be considered. Candidate genes for this purpose are: Rj2, Rfg1 and Rj4 from the NBS-LRR group and those related to the NFR1/LYK3 and NFR5/NFP receptors (they alter the degree and specificity in which an Rh species succeeds in colonizing the plant host).

Following the Rhs line, there is the possibility of modifying the nitrogenase enzyme (NifH, NifD, NifK, NifE and NifN), which consists of a long subunit composed of Molybdenum-Iron and a small one composed of a ferric protein or dinitrogenase reductase. The latter is coupled to an Mg-ATP complex that delivers energy and donates electrons for nitrogen reduction (114114. Kumaar SA, Babu RP, Vivek P, Saravanan D. Role of Nitrogen Fixers as Biofertilizers in Future Perspective: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology [Internet]. 2020;13(5):2459-67. Available from: https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:rjpt&volume=13&issue=5&article=070 ). This enzyme has been identified in most Rhs-infected legume species, which is why it may be of special attention for genetic modification. The main objective would be to make it more efficient by improving coupling with Mg-ATP and increasing nitrogen reduction. This would result in increased ammonium delivery (mainly) to the plant.

On the other hand, molybdenum, as well as iron and sulfur are important for nitrogenase. One group of researchers identified that the MOT1.2/1.3 genes are related to transporters found in the plasma membrane of endodermal cells, which enclose the vascular branches of the nodule, and these modulate the entry as well as the distribution of Mo in the cells (115115. Gil‐Díez P, Tejada‐Jiménez M, León‐Mediavilla J, Wen J, Mysore KS, Imperial J, et al. MtMOT1. 2 is responsible for molybdate supply to Medicago truncatula nodules. Plant, cell & environment [Internet]. 2019;42(1):310-20. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pce.13388 ). How Mo is transported to the symbiosome remains to be determined (3838. Roy S, Liu W, Nandety RS, Crook A, Mysore KS, Pislariu CI, et al. Celebrating 20 years of genetic discoveries in legume nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The Plant Cell [Internet]. 2020;32(1):15-41. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/1/15/6099066?login=true ), but these genes are candidates for study to decipher the possibility of making the Mo-Fe subunit of nitrogenase more efficient.

Calcium transporters (NENA, CASTOR, POLLUX, NUP85, NUP133, DMI3 and DMI1) are also susceptible to modification, so that the calcium gradient produced in the nucleus is the reason for an increased transcription of the colonization response. It is important to emphasize that, regardless of the transporter that is chosen to be modified, what should be sought is the optimization of the process; that is, not to exceed the limits that the plant can tolerate so as not to cause an imbalance in terms of energy balance.

Regarding AMF, the most common use is the extraction of their propagules from the soil to inoculate ex-situ and thus increase the amount of this type of fungus in agricultural soils, this is carried out because AMF are not very specific and can colonize several hosts, thus registering many studies in this regard (116116. Torrez V, Ceulemans T, Mergeay J, De Meester L, Honnay O. Effects of adding an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum and of distance to donor sites on plant species recolonization following topsoil removal. Applied Vegetation Science [Internet]. 2016;19(1):7-19. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/avsc.12193 ). The identification of new species through metagenomics can support the typical ex-situ inoculation; recently, new species were found in environments as inhospitable as deserts and could be used in diverse crops to increase their yields (117117. Symanczik S, Błaszkowski J, Chwat G, Boller T, Wiemken A, Al-Yahya’ei MN. Three new species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi discovered at one location in a desert of Oman: Diversispora omaniana, Septoglomus nakheelum and Rhizophagus arabicus. Mycologia [Internet]. 2014;106(2):243-59. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3852/106.2.243 ). In addition, sequencing of AMF could provide new discoveries in genomics and transcriptomics concerning the infection mechanism they share with Rhs.

The use of genetic engineering has great potential for agriculture, but sequencing of species is needed to identify and modify the expression of genes of interest. However, this aspect has been little investigated and only R. irregularis has been sequenced in one study, where a compilation of genes of interest that can be modified in this species is made (109109. French KE. Engineering mycorrhizal symbioses to alter plant metabolism and improve crop health. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2017;8:1403. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01403/full ). On the other hand, some researchers suggest using, initially, the information obtained in other fungi such as Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum in terms of promoters and transcription factors (118118. Polli F, Meijrink B, Bovenberg RA, Driessen AJ. New promoters for strain engineering of Penicillium chrysogenum. Fungal Genetics and Biology [Internet]. 2016;89:62-71. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087184515300517 ).

Because most AMF do not reproduce sexually, it makes these organisms highly promising when using genetic engineering and synthetic biology, as genes introduced are unlikely to be cross-incorporated into other species (119119. Pawlowska TE. Genetic processes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. FEMS Microbiology Letters [Internet]. 2005;251(2):185-92. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/femsle/article/251/2/185/601349?login=true ). In addition, this type of fungi is of great importance in the phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals, since there are scientific records of the possibility of improving the expression of genes that encode for chelating proteins such as phytochelatins and metallothioneins, as well as metabolites such as oxalate, which deactivate heavy metal toxicity (109109. French KE. Engineering mycorrhizal symbioses to alter plant metabolism and improve crop health. Frontiers in Microbiology [Internet]. 2017;8:1403. Available from: https://internaljournal.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01403/full ,120120. Sayer JA, Gadd GM. Solubilization and transformation of insoluble inorganic metal compounds to insoluble metal oxalates by Aspergillus niger. Mycological Research [Internet]. 1997;101(6):653-61. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mycologicalresearch/article/abs/solubilization-and-transformation-of-insoluble-inorganic-metal-compounds-toinsoluble-metal-oxalates-by-aspergillus-niger/0A498FDCFD1784B980BAD284216A8EAB ).

Despite the benefits provided by AMF mentioned in this review, not enough research has been done in molecular genetics to increase the beneficial effects of these fungi. First, future research should focus on basic issues such as identification and expression of genes that may affect plant growth and metabolism. On the other hand, with metagenomic studies, to characterize the diversity that exists in the edaphic environment, in order to have a wide variety of options for future applications that could be beneficial to humans and different ecosystems.

Conclusions

 
  • The microsymbionts (Rhs and AMF) are oriented to their host by the signal emitted by the host roots. Upon sensing the signal, both microsymbionts begin to activate genes that secrete compounds that bind with the membrane of their host to, in turn, activate the mechanism of acceptance and attachment by the plant.

  • The plant configures its anatomy, expressing genes that allow microsymbionts to colonize and exchange chemical compounds in a continuous communication process, through the perisymbiotic and perihaustorial membrane for Rhs and AMF, respectively.

  • Common genes have great potential to be candidates for genetic modification and thus make colonization more efficient, either by one or several microsymbiont species. It is important to assess when maximum efficiency is achieved individually or with a set of species/strains.

  • Although most AMF are complex to sequence because they are difficult to culture at the laboratory level, it is necessary to conduct such studies, as well as to take advantage of current technologies, such as metagenomics, to identify species and genes related to colonization, regulation and expression pathways. Once these have been elucidated, new genes common to both symbionts can be identified.