We report the isolation and characterization of a new Medicago truncatula hyper-nodulation mutant, designated sunn (super numeric nodules). Similar to the previously described ethylene-insensitive mutant sickle, sunn exhibits a 10-fold increase in the number of nodules within the primary nodulation zone. Despite this general similarity, these two mutants are readily distinguished based on anatomical, genetic, physiological, and molecular criteria. In contrast to sickle, where insensitivity to ethylene is thought to be causal to the hyper-nodulation phenotype (R.V. Penmetsa, D.R. Cook [1997] Science 275: 527-530), nodulation in sunn is normally sensitive to ethylene. Nevertheless, sunn exhibits seedling root growth that is insensitive to ethylene, although other aspects of the ethylene triple response are normal; these observations suggest that hormonal responses might condition the sunn phenotype in a manner distinct from sickle. The two mutants also differ in the anatomy of the nodulation zone: Successful infection and nodule development in sunn occur predominantly opposite xylem poles, similar to wild type. In sickle, however, both infection and nodulation occur randomly throughout the circumference of the developing root. Genetic analysis indicates that sunn and sickle correspond to separate and unlinked loci, whereas the sunn/skl double mutant exhibits a novel and additive super-nodulation phenotype. Taken together, these results suggest a working hypothesis wherein sunn and sickle define distinct genetic pathways, with skl regulating the number and distribution of successful infection events, and sunn regulating nodule organogenesis.Legumes form a novel organ on their roots in response to lipooligosaccharide signals, the "Nod factors," delivered by specific soil bacteria called rhizobia. Nodules are colonized by the inciting rhizobia, and ultimately provide a physiological context necessary for symbiotic nitrogen fixation by the bacterium (Crawford et al., 2000). Key aspects of symbiotic metabolism include the supply of energy in the form of carbon, from the plant to the bacterium, and the return of reduced nitrogen in the form of ammonia, from the bacterium to the plant. The benefits of this cross-kingdom collaboration extend beyond the exchange of carbon and nitrogen between the symbiotic partners, to the ecosystem level where the increased abundance of biologically available nitrogen impacts coresident species across several trophic levels. Understanding the nodulation process represents an important objective for plant biologists, with significant implications for both agricultural and natural ecosystems.Numerous genetic studies establish that the initiation of symbiotic development depends on the perception of Nod factor signals by the plant host. A description of the molecular mechanisms underlying this process is beginning to emerge primarily from studies involving two model legume species, Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus. Numerous nonnodulating mutants have been identified in these model le...

SUMMARY Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), the most common genetic form of mental retardation and autism, is caused by loss of function mutations in an RNA binding protein, Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP). Patients’ neurons, as well as those of the mouse model, Fmr1 knockout (KO), are characterized by an excess of dendritic spines, suggesting a deficit in excitatory synapse elimination. In response to neuronal activity, myocyte enhancing factor 2 (MEF2) transcription factors induce robust synapse elimination. Here, we demonstrate that MEF2 activation fails to eliminate functional or structural excitatory synapses in hippocampal neurons from Fmr1 KO mice. Similarly, inhibition of endogenous MEF2 increases synapse number in wildtype, but not Fmr1 KO neurons. MEF2-dependent synapse elimination is rescued in Fmr1 KO neurons by acute postsynaptic expression of FMRP, but not RNA binding mutants of FMRP. Our results reveal that active MEF2 and FMRP function together in an acute, cell autonomous mechanism to eliminate excitatory synapses.

Summary Chromatin remodeling by histone deacetylases (HDACs), is a key mechanism regulating behavioral adaptations to cocaine use. We report here that cocaine and cyclic-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling induce the transient nuclear accumulation of HDAC5 in rodent striatum. We show that cAMP-stimulated nuclear import of HDAC5 requires a novel signaling mechanism that involves transient, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-dependent dephosphorylation of a novel Cdk5 site (S279) found within the HDAC5 nuclear localization sequence. Dephosphorylation of HDAC5 increases its nuclear accumulation, by accelerating its nuclear import rate and reducing its nuclear export rate. Importantly, we show that dephosphorylation of HDAC5 S279 in the nucleus accumbens suppresses the development, but not expression, of cocaine reward behavior in vivo. Together, our findings reveal a new molecular mechanism by which cocaine regulates HDAC5 function to antagonize the rewarding impact of cocaine, likely by putting a brake on drug-stimulated gene expression that supports drug-induced behavioral changes.

The Rhizobium-legume symbiosis culminates in the exchange of nutrients in the root nodule. Bacteria within the nodule reduce molecular nitrogen for plant use and plants provide bacteria with carbon-containing compounds. Following the initial signaling events that lead to plant infection, little is known about the plant requirements for establishment and maintenance of the symbiosis. We screened 44,000 M2 plants from fast neutron-irradiated Medicago truncatula seeds and isolated eight independent mutant lines that are defective in nitrogen fixation. The eight mutants are monogenic and represent seven complementation groups. To monitor bacterial status in mutant nodules, we assayed Sinorhizobium meliloti symbiosis gene promoters (nodF, exoY, bacA, and nifH) in the defective in nitrogen fixation mutants. Additionally, we used an Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarray to monitor gene expression changes in wild-type and three mutant plants during the nodulation process. These analyses suggest the mutants can be separated into three classes: one class that supports little to no nitrogen fixation and minimal bacterial expression of nifH; another class that supports no nitrogen fixation and minimal bacterial expression of nodF, bacA, and nifH; and a final class that supports low levels of both nitrogen fixation and bacterial nifH expression.

The formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules in legumes is tightly controlled by a long-distance signaling system in which nodulating roots signal to shoot tissues to suppress further nodulation. A screen for supernodulating Medicago truncatula mutants defective in this regulatory behavior yielded loss-of-function alleles of a gene designated ROOT DETERMINED NODULATION1 (RDN1). Grafting experiments demonstrated that RDN1 regulatory function occurs in the roots, not the shoots, and is essential for normal nodule number regulation. The RDN1 gene, Medtr5g089520, was identified by genetic mapping, transcript profiling, and phenotypic rescue by expression of the wild-type gene in rdn1 mutants. A mutation in a putative RDN1 ortholog was also identified in the supernodulating nod3 mutant of pea (Pisum sativum). RDN1 is predicted to encode a 357-amino acid protein of unknown function. The RDN1 promoter drives expression in the vascular cylinder, suggesting RDN1 may be involved in initiating, responding to, or transporting vascular signals. RDN1 is a member of a small, uncharacterized, highly conserved gene family unique to green plants, including algae, that we have named the RDN family.