Associate Professor University of Leeds, England, United Kingdom
Intercellular communication via plasmodesmata (PD, channels connecting the cytoplasm of neighbouring cells) regulates the spreading of molecular signals including RNAs, proteins, sugars and hormones. In 2018, we reported the role of PD mediated transport in the formation of legume-rhizobia nitrogen-fixing symbiosis impacting root development in poorly fertilized soils (Gaudioso-Pedraza et al., 2018). We identified callose-degrading enzymes induced during nodule development to facilitate rhizobia infection and root colonization. Callose is a beta-1,3 glucan cell wall component that deposits at PD sites restricting its cytoplasmic aperture and symplasmic transport. Here I will expose evidence supporting a role for other PD proteins in the formation of nodules in response to nitrogen limiting conditions and reveal a role for callose in root interactions with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). I will also introduce our efforts to understand the mechanical and structural properties of callose at and outside PD/ pit fields and discuss the implications of our findings in light of the context presented by different cell walls.