Characterization of the Role of the NPF1B Gene in Plant Root Nutritional Symbioses

Plants are the foundation of our food system. All our food either comes directly from plants or from animals that have been fed plants. Thus, our nutrition is directly related to the nutritional content of plants. In nature, plants obtain much of their mineral nutrients from symbioses with soil microbes, forming mycorrhizal roots with specialized fungi and nitrogen-fixing root nodules with rhizobium bacteria. One goal of sustainable agriculture is to cultivate these ancient associations to reduce reliance on commercial fertilizer. We have identified a gene, NPF1B, associated with both mycorrhization and nodulation, expressed specifically in infected cells, the sites of nutrient transfer between symbiotic partners. To learn how the same gene can function in two different symbioses, we examine alternative splicing of the NPF1B gene in both mycorrhization and nodulation.