Assistant Professor Tennessee State University Nashville, Tennessee
Plant roots foraging for nutrients require internal signals to integrate environmental cues for optimal plant growth in a dynamic environment. Using a chemical genomics-based Genome Wide Association Study and RNA sequencing we discovered a link between the strigolactone receptor DWARF14 (D14) and GOLVEN (GLV) peptide-mediated effects on legume nodulation. We show that GLV peptides affect lateral root and nodule positioning in Medicago truncatula and that this is dependent on strigolactone signaling. Furthermore, GLV peptides require D14 to modulate gene expression levels of two PLETHORA transcription factors and the auxin transporter MtPILS2. We identify two auxin-induced GLV peptide coding genes, MtGLV9 and MtGLV10 that are expressed in nodule primordia and act downstream of the central transcription factor NODULE INCEPTION during nodule initiation. Our findings suggest that GLV peptides integrate abiotic stress signals into root developmental programs through effects on strigolactone signaling.