ENOD12, an early nodulin gene, is not required for nodule formation and efficient nitrogen fixation in alfalfa.

To demonstrate the importance of an extensively studied early nodulin gene ENOD12 in symbiotic nodule development, plants of different Medicago sativa subspecies were tested for the presence or absence of ENOD12 alleles. In M. s. ssp coerulea w2 (Mcw2), two ENOD12 genes were detected, whereas in M. s. ssp quasifalcata k93 (Mqk93) only one gene was present. In both plants, the ENOD12 genes were expressed in nodules induced by Rhizobium meliloti. The nucleotide sequence of the ENOD12 genes showed that the two Mcw2-specific genes were similar to the ENOD12A and ENOD12B genes of the tetraploid M. s. ssp sativa. ENOD12 from Mqk93 was similar to the corresponding gene found in M. truncatula. From the aligned ENOD12 sequences, an evolutionary tree was constructed. Genetic analysis of the progenies of a cross between Mqk93 and Mcw2 showed that several offspring in F1 carried a null allele originating from Mcw2, and among the F2 progenies, plants with the null allele only lacking the ENOD12 gene appeared. Surprisingly, the ENOD12-deficient plants were similar to their wild-type parents in viability, nodule development, nodule structure, and nitrogen fixation efficiency. Therefore, we concluded that in Medicago the ENOD12 gene is not required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Furthermore, we proposed that the heterozygous nature of these legumes can be exploited for the identification of mutated alleles of other known nodulin genes; this will permit the construction of plant mutants deficient in these genes.