The demonstration of a single origin for nodule evolution, with nodule engineering in a non-nodulating species
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: ABSTRACT The nitrogen-fixing root-nodule symbiosis provides a sustainable source of nitrogen for plants within the Nitrogen (N)-fixing clade (NFC). A debate has raged over whether nodulation evolved once, with many losses or multiple times following a predisposition event. Here we demonstrate that nodule-organogenesis is fully conserved between an actinorhizal nodulator Datisca glomerata and the legume Medicago truncatula , showing entirely conserved programmes for Nodule INception (NIN)- controlled development leading to nodule emergence. Convergent losses of N-fixation within the NFC is associated with loss of NIN and we show the engineering of nodule-like development into strawberry, a non-nodulating member of the NFC, through the repair of NIN- functionality. Similar NIN- engineering resulted in altered-root developmental responses in barley. Our work is consistent with the single-gain hypothesis, where repair of NIN can recapitulate nodules in species within the NFC, demonstrating that understanding the ancestral state of nodulation facilitates its engineering.
Institutions: National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, University of Cambridge, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, Laboratoire de Recherche en Sciences Végétales, Université de Toulouse, John Innes Centre, Wageningen University & Research
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7163319901