To study the role of LecRK (lectin-like receptor kinase) genes in the legume-rhizobia symbiosis, we have characterized the four Medicago truncatula Gaernt. LecRK genes that are most highly expressed in roots. Three of these genes, MtLecRK7;1, MtLecRK7;2, and MtLecRK7;3, encode proteins most closely related to the Class A LecRKs of Arabidopsis, whereas the protein encoded by the fourth gene, MtLecRK1;1, is most similar to a Class B Arabidopsis LecRK. All four genes show a strongly enhanced root expression, and detailed studies on MtLecRK1;1 and MtLecRK7;2 revealed that the levels of their mRNAs are increased by nitrogen starvation and transiently repressed after either rhizobial inoculation or addition of lipochitooligosaccharidic Nod factors. Studies of the MtLecRK1;1 and MtLecRK7;2 proteins, using green fluorescent protein fusions in transgenic M. truncatula roots, revealed that they are located in the plasma membrane and that their central transmembrane-spanning helix is required for correct sorting. Moreover, their lectin-like domains appear to be highly glycosylated. Of the four proteins, only MtLecRK1;1 shows a high conservation of key residues implicated in monosaccharide binding, and molecular modeling revealed that this protein may be capable of interacting with Nod factors. However, no increase in Nod factor binding was found in roots overexpressing a fusion in which the kinase domain of this protein had been replaced with green fluorescent protein. Roots expressing this fusion protein however showed an increase in nodule number, suggesting that expression of MtLecRK1;1 influences nodulation. The potential role of LecRKs in the legumerhizobia symbiosis is discussed.The lectin-like receptor kinases (LecRKs) are a class of proteins originally described from Arabidopsis (Hervé et al., 1996). They have a structure similar to other plant receptor-like kinases (RLKs; Shiu and Bleecker, 2001;Cock et al., 2002) with an N-terminal targeting signal, a presumably extracellular domain, a single transmembrane (TM)-spanning helix, and a cytosolic kinase domain. The Arabidopsis genome contains over 610 RLKs that have been shown to be monophylogenetic with respect to the kinase domain and most closely related to the fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster) Pelle and related animal cytoplasmic kinases (Shiu and Bleecker, 2001). In cases in which they have been tested, these kinases have been shown to have specificity for phosphorylation on Ser/Thr residues (Shiu and Bleecker, 2001).The plant RLKs can be grouped into more than 21 structural classes based on their extracellular domains (Shiu and Bleecker, 2001). The LecRKs represent one such class in which the extracellular domain is related to legume lectins. The Arabidopsis genome contains at least 42 LecRK sequences that have been grouped into three classes (A-C) plus an additional nine sequences of related soluble lectins (Barre et al., 2002). Searches in plant databases reveal that LecRK genes are widespread in higher plants, but apart from Arabidopsis (Hervé et al., 1996,...