Legumes and rhizobia establish symbiosis in root nodules. To balance the gains and costs associated with the symbiosis, plants have developed two strategies for adapting to nitrogen availability in the soil: plants can regulate nodule number and/or stop the development or function of nodules. Although the former is accounted for by autoregulation of nodulation, a form of systemic long-range signaling, the latter strategy remains largely enigmatic. Here, we show that the Lotus japonicus NITRATE UNRESPONSIVE SYMBIOSIS 1 (NRSYM1) gene encoding a NIN-LIKE PROTEIN transcription factor acts as a key regulator in the nitrate-induced pleiotropic control of root nodule symbiosis. NRSYM1 accumulates in the nucleus in response to nitrate and directly regulates the production of CLE-RS2, a root-derived mobile peptide that acts as a negative regulator of nodule number. Our data provide the genetic basis for how plants respond to the nitrogen environment and control symbiosis to achieve proper plant growth.

Leguminous plants produce nodules for nitrogen fixation; however, nodule production incurs an energy cost. Therefore, as an adaptive strategy, leguminous plants halt root nodule development when sufficient amounts of nitrogen nutrients, such as nitrate, are present in the environment. Although legume NODULE INCEPTION (NIN)-LIKE PROTEIN (NLP) transcription factors have recently been identified, understanding how nodulation is controlled by nitrate, a fundamental question for nitrate-mediated transcriptional regulation of symbiotic genes, remains elusive. Here, we show that two Lotus japonicus NLPs, NITRATE UNRESPONSIVE SYMBIOSIS 1 (NRSYM1)/LjNLP4 and NRSYM2/LjNLP1, have overlapping functions in the nitrate-induced control of nodulation and act as master regulators for nitrate-dependent gene expression. We further identify candidate target genes of LjNLP4 by combining transcriptome analysis with a DNA affinity purification (DAP)-seq approach. We then demonstrate that LjNLP4 and LjNIN, a key nodulation-specific regulator and paralogue of LjNLP4, have different DNA-binding specificities. Moreover, LjNLP4-LjNIN dimerization underlies LjNLP4-mediated bifunctional transcriptional regulation. These data provide a basic principle for how nitrate controls nodulation through positive and negative regulation of symbiotic genes.

Cell-to-cell communication, principally mediated by short- or long-range mobile signals, is involved in many plant developmental processes. In root nodule symbiosis, a mutual relationship between leguminous plants and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, the mechanism for the autoregulation of nodulation (AON) plays a key role in preventing the production of an excess number of nodules. AON is based on long-distance cell-to-cell communication between roots and shoots. In Lotus japonicus, two CLAVATA3/ESR-related (CLE) peptides, encoded by CLE-ROOT SIGNAL 1 (CLE-RS1) and -RS2, act as putative root-derived signals that transmit signals inhibiting further nodule development through interaction with a shoot-acting receptor-like kinase HYPERNODULATION ABERRANT ROOT FORMATION 1 (HAR1). Here, an in silico search and subsequent expression analyses enabled us to identify two new L. japonicus CLE genes that are potentially involved in nodulation, designated as CLE-RS3 and LjCLE40. Time-course expression patterns showed that CLE-RS1/2/3 and LjCLE40 expression is induced during nodulation with different activation patterns. Furthermore, constitutive expression of CLE-RS3 significantly suppressed nodule formation in a HAR1-dependent manner. TOO MUCH LOVE, a root-acting regulator of AON, is also required for the CLE-RS3 action. These results suggest that CLE-RS3 is a new component of AON in L. japonicus that may act as a potential root-derived signal through interaction with HAR1. Because CLE-RS2, CLE-RS3 and LjCLE40 are located in tandem in the genome and their expression is induced not only by rhizobial infection but also by nitrate, these genes may have duplicated from a common gene.