Polar auxin transport is dependent on the family of PIN-formed proteins (PINs), which are membrane transporters of anionic indole-3-acetic acid (IAA(-)). It is assumed that polar auxin transport may be essential in the development and meristematic activity maintenance of Medicago truncatula (M. truncatula) root nodules. However, little is known about the involvement of specific PIN proteins in ...

Asian soybean rust (ASR) caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi is a devastating foliar disease affecting soybean production worldwide. Understanding nonhost resistance against ASR may provide an avenue to engineer soybean to confer durable resistance against ASR. We characterized a Medicago truncatula-ASR pathosystem to study molecular mechanisms of nonhost resistance. Although urediniospores formed ...

Medicago truncatula (barrel medic) A17 is currently being sequenced as a model legume, complementing the sequenced root nodule bacterial strain Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 (Sm1021). In this study, the effectiveness of the Sm1021-M. truncatula symbiosis at fixing N(2) was evaluated. N(2) fixation effectiveness was examined with eight Medicago species and three accessions of M. truncatula with Sm...

A previous study conducted in Belgium revealed that genetic material of Fasciola sp. was present in snail species belonging to the genus Radix. Here, these snails were collected and identified by DNA-based techniques as Radix labiata and Radix balthica. These two species and Galba truncatula (the major intermediate host in Europe) were experimentally infected with Fasciola hepatica. The resulti...

The reproductive assurance hypothesis emphasizes that self-fertilization should evolve in species with reduced dispersal capability, low population size or experiencing recurrent bottlenecks. Our work investigates the ecological components of the habitats colonized by the snail, Galba truncatula, that may influence the evolution of selfing. Galba truncatula is a preferential selfer inhabiting f...

Jasmonate (JA)-mediated defences play important roles in host responses to pathogen attack, in particular to necrotrophic fungal pathogens that kill host cells in order to extract nutrients and live off the dead plant tissue. The root-infecting fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum initiates a necrotrophic growth phase towards the later stages of its lifecycle and is responsible for devastating Fu...

Four putative apyrase genes were identified from the model legume Medicago truncatula. Two of the genes identified from M. truncatula (Mtapy1 and Mtapy4) are expressed in roots and are inducible within 3 h after inoculation with Sinorhizobium meliloti. The level of mRNA expression of the other two putative apyrases, Mtapy2 and Mtapy3, was unaffected by rhizobial inoculation. Screening of a bact...

Triterpenes are one of the largest classes of plant natural products, with an enormous variety in structure and bioactivities. Here, triterpene saponins from hairy roots of the model legume Medicago truncatula were profiled with reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to negative-ion electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (LC ESI FT-ICR MS). Owi...