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Poster

Session: Session 1 Presenting Authors at Posters (Odds)

P-409 - Evolutionary trajectories and functional diversification of SymRK-like receptor family.

Monday, July 14, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Symbiosis and Mutualism (mycorrhiza and N-fixing Rhizobia)

Plants form two types of root endosymbiosis with microorganisms. Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) formed with Glomeromycota fungi occurs in ~80% of land plants and dates back 450 million years. AM supplies plants with water and nutrients such as phosphate and nitrogen. Root Nodule Symbiosis (RNS) with nitrogen-fixing bacteria is 90-100 million years old and is restricted to the Fabales, Fagales, Cucurbitales and Rosales. Genetic studies of model legumes, including Lotus japonicus, have identified ‘Common Symbiosis Genes’ essential for both root endosymbiosis. One of those genes, Symbiosis Receptor-like Kinase (SymRK), encodes a plasma membrane protein from the family of Malectin-like Domain Leucine-Rich Repeat Receptor Kinases. SymRK is required for epidermal uptake of AM fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria; however, the understanding of its phylogenetic relationship and sub-family evolutionary dynamics remains incomplete. Furthermore, the key sequence and structural polymorphisms underlying SymRK function in AM and RNS remain unknown, in part due to the lack of consistent orthology- and paralogy-based comparisons. To fill this knowledge gap, we have conducted a comprehensive inventory of the SymRK receptor family, together with in-depth sequence and structural analysis of its closest homolog. We identified asymmetric evolutionary signatures acting on subdomains of SymRK and its closest paralog and propose a functional link in Lotus japonicus.