Root hairs are involved in water and nutrient uptake, and thereby in plant autotrophy. In legumes, they also play a crucial role in establishment of rhizobial symbiosis. To obtain a holistic view of Medicago truncatula genes expressed in root hairs and of their regulation during the first hours of the engagement in rhizobial symbiotic interaction, a high throughput RNA sequencing on isolated root hairs from roots challenged or not with lipochitooligosaccharides Nod factors (NF) for 4 or 20 h was carried out. This provided a repertoire of genes displaying expression in root hairs, responding or not to NF, and specific or not to legumes. In analyzing the transcriptome dataset, special attention was paid to pumps, transporters, or channels active at the plasma membrane, to other proteins likely to play a role in nutrient ion uptake, NF electrical and calcium signaling, control of the redox status or the dynamic reprogramming of root hair transcriptome induced by NF treatment, and to the identification of papilionoid legume-specific genes expressed in root hairs. About 10% of the root hair expressed genes were significantly up- or down-regulated by NF treatment, suggesting their involvement in remodeling plant functions to allow establishment of the symbiotic relationship. For instance, NF-induced changes in expression of genes encoding plasma membrane transport systems or disease response proteins indicate that root hairs reduce their involvement in nutrient ion absorption and adapt their immune system in order to engage in the symbiotic interaction. It also appears that the redox status of root hair cells is tuned in response to NF perception. In addition, 1176 genes that could be considered as “papilionoid legume-specific” were identified in the M. truncatula root hair transcriptome, from which 141 were found to possess an ortholog in every of the six legume genomes that we considered, suggesting their involvement in essential functions specific to legumes. This transcriptome provides a valuable resource to investigate root hair biology in legumes and the roles that these cells play in rhizobial symbiosis establishment. These results could also contribute to the long-term objective of transferring this symbiotic capacity to non-legume plants.

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Both approaches had good success, 75.0% for formal urethrolysis and 86.6% for partial excision. New onset urgency was lower for partial excision, but rates of all other complications were similar. These procedures are often used for different patient populations, and thus, outcomes are not meant to be directly compared. Future work on sling revision should report these procedures separately.

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Purpose To report our intermediate-term, multi-institutional experience after robotic ureteral reconstruction for the management of long-segment proximal ureteral strictures. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed our Collaborative of Reconstructive Robotic Ureteral Surgery (CORRUS) database to identify all patients who underwent robotic ureteral reconstruction for long-segment (≥4 centimeters) proximal ureteral strictures between August 2012 and June 2019. The primary surgeon determined the specific technique to reconstruct the ureter at time of surgery based on the patient's clinical history and intraoperative findings. Our primary outcome was surgical success, which we defined as the absence of ureteral obstruction on radiographic imaging and absence of obstructive flank pain. Results Of 20 total patients, 4 (20.0%) underwent robotic ureteroureterostomy (RUU) with downward nephropexy (DN), 2 (10.0%) underwent robotic ureterocalycostomy (RUC) with DN, and 14 (70.0%) underwent robotic ureteroplasty with buccal mucosa graft (RU-BMG). Median stricture length was 4 centimeters (interquartile range [IQR], 4–4; maximum, 5), 6 centimeters (IQR, 5–7; maximum, 8), and 5 centimeters (IQR, 4–5; maximum, 8) for patients undergoing RUU with DN, RUC with DN, and RU-BMG, respectively. At a median follow-up of 24 (IQR, 14–51) months, 17/20 (85.0%) cases were surgically successful. Two of four patients (50.0%) who underwent RUU with DN developed stricture recurrences within 3 months. Conclusions Long-segment proximal ureteral strictures may be safely and effectively managed with RUC with DN and RU-BMG. Although RUU with DN can be utilized, this technique may be associated with a higher failure rate.

The model legume Medicago truncatula possesses a single outward Shaker K + channel, while Arabidopsis thaliana possesses two channels of this type, named AtSKOR and AtGORK, the former having been shown to play a major role in K + secretion into the xylem sap in the root vasculature and the latter to mediate the efflux of K + across the guard cell membrane leading to stomatal closure. Here we show that the expression pattern of the single M. truncatula outward Shaker channel, which has been named MtGORK, includes the root vasculature, guard cells and root hairs. As shown by patch-clamp experiments on root hair protoplasts, besides the Shakertype slowly-activating outwardly-rectifying K + conductance encoded by MtGORK, a second K +permeable conductance, displaying fast activation and weak rectification, can be expressed by M. truncatula. A KO mutation resulting in absence of MtGORK activity is shown to weakly reduce K + translocation to shoots, and only in plants engaged in rhizobial symbiosis, but to strongly affect the control of stomatal aperture and transpirational water loss. In legumes, the early electrical signaling pathway triggered by Nod factor perception is known to comprise a short transient depolarization of the root hair plasma membrane. In absence of MtGORK functional expression, the rate of the membrane repolarization is found to be decreased by about 2 times. This defect was without any consequence on infection thread development and nodule production in plants grown in vitro, but a decrease in nodule production was observed in plants grown in soil.