NIN is essential for development of symbiosomes, suppression of defence and premature senescence in Medicago truncatula nodules

What is it about?

A key question related to mutualistic interactions is how host plants can suppress a defense response, especially when microbes are hosted inside their cells as for example in nitrogen fixing root nodules. Here we show that in Medicago nodules the transcription factor NIN plays a key role in avoiding a defense suppressing response and to maintain a symbiotic response. This is surprising as NIN also plays a key role in nodule organogenesis and rhizobial infection.

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