Deletions of the SACPD-C locus elevate seed stearic acid levels but also result in fatty acid and morphological alterations in nitrogen fixing nodules.

BACKGROUND: Soybean (Glycine max) seeds are the primary source of edible oil in the United States. Despite its widespread utility, soybean oil is oxidatively unstable. Until recently, the majority of soybean oil underwent chemical hydrogenation, a process which also generates trans fats. An alternative to chemical hydrogenation is genetic modification of seed oil through identification and introgression of mutant alleles. One target for improvement is the elevation of a saturated fat with no negative cardiovascular impacts, stearic acid, which typically constitutes a minute portion of seed oil (~3%). RESULTS: We examined radiation induced soybean mutants with moderately increased stearic acid (10-15% of seed oil, ~3-5 X the levels in wild-type soybean seeds) via comparative whole genome hybridization and genetic analysis. The deletion of one SACPD isoform encoding gene (SACPD-C) was perfectly correlated with moderate elevation of seed stearic acid content. However, SACPD-C deletion lines were also found to have altered nodule fatty acid composition and grossly altered morphology. Despite these defects, overall nodule accumulation and nitrogen fixation were unaffected, at least under laboratory conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Although no yield penalty has been reported for moderate elevated seed stearic acid content in soybean seeds, our results demonstrate that genetic alteration of seed traits can have unforeseen pleiotropic consequences. We have identified a role for fatty acid biosynthesis, and SACPD activity in particular, in the establishment and maintenance of symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Structural and functional studies of a phosphatidic acid-binding antifungal plant defensin MtDef4: identification of an RGFRRR motif governing fungal cell entry.

MtDef4 is a 47-amino acid cysteine-rich evolutionary conserved defensin from a model legume Medicago truncatula. It is an apoplast-localized plant defense protein that inhibits the growth of the ascomycetous fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum in vitro at micromolar concentrations. Little is known about the mechanisms by which MtDef4 mediates its antifungal activity. In this study, we show that MtDef4 rapidly permeabilizes fungal plasma membrane and is internalized by the fungal cells where it accumulates in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, analysis of the structure of MtDef4 reveals the presence of a positively charged γ-core motif composed of ß2 and ß3 strands connected by a positively charged RGFRRR loop. Replacement of the RGFRRR sequence with AAAARR or RGFRAA abolishes the ability of MtDef4 to enter fungal cells, suggesting that the RGFRRR loop is a translocation signal required for the internalization of the protein. MtDef4 binds to phosphatidic acid (PA), a precursor for the biosynthesis of membrane phospholipids and a signaling lipid known to recruit cytosolic proteins to membranes. Amino acid substitutions in the RGFRRR sequence which abolish the ability of MtDef4 to enter fungal cells also impair its ability to bind PA. These findings suggest that MtDef4 is a novel antifungal plant defensin capable of entering into fungal cells and affecting intracellular targets and that these processes are mediated by the highly conserved cationic RGFRRR loop via its interaction with PA.