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JXB Advance Access originally published online on October 9, 2008
Journal of Experimental Botany 2008 59(14):3831-3844; doi:10.1093/jxb/ern223
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© 2008 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This paper is available online free of all access charges (see http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/open_access.html for further details)

RESEARCH PAPER

Comparative phylogenetic analysis of small GTP-binding genes of model legume plants and assessment of their roles in root nodules

Bayram Yuksel* and Abdul R. Memon

Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute, Marmara Research Center, TUBITAK, PO Box 21, 41400, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey

* To whom corespondence should be addressed. E-mail: bayram.yuksel{at}mam.gov.tr

Small GTP-binding genes play an essential regulatory role in a multitude of cellular processes such as vesicle-mediated intracellular trafficking, signal transduction, cytoskeletal organization, and cell division in plants and animals. Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus are important model plants for studying legume-specific biological processes such as nodulation. The publicly available online resources for these plants from websites such as http://www.ncbi.nih.gov, http://www.medicago.org, http://www.tigr.org, and related sites were searched to collect nucleotide sequences that encode GTP-binding protein homologues. A total of 460 small GTPase sequences from several legume species including Medicago and Lotus, Arabidopsis, human, and yeast were phyletically analysed to shed light on the evolution and functional characteristics of legume-specific homologues. One of the main emphases of this study was the elucidation of the possible involvement of some members of small GTPase homologues in the establishment and maintenance of symbiotic associations in root nodules of legumes. A high frequency of vesicle-mediated trafficking in nodules led to the idea of a probable subfunctionalization of some members of this family in legumes. As a result of the analyses, a group of 10 small GTPases that are likely to be mainly expressed in nodules was determined. The sequences determined as a result of this study could be used in more detailed molecular genetic analyses such as creation of RNA inteference silencing mutants for further clarification of the role of GTPases in nodulation. This study will also assist in furthering our understanding of the evolutionary history of small GTPases in legume species.

Key words: Arabidopsis thaliana, ARF, Lotus japonicus, Medicago truncatula, nodulation, phylogenetic, RAB, RAC, ROP, small GTPases

Received 22 May 2008; Revised 17 July 2008 Accepted 6 August 2008


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