Sequence complexities of the poly(A)-containing mRNA in uninfected soybean root and the nodule tissue developed due to the infection by Rhizobium

Abstract

In order to determine the number of structural genes expressed specifically in root nodules, the total complexities of poly(A) + polysomal RNA populations from uninfected roots and mature nodules were compared. Hybridization kinetics of nodule poly(A) + RNA (NRNA) to its cDNA (NcDNA) revealed a very abundant component comprising 18--20% of the NRNA. This component was shown to be leghaemoglobin (Lb) by the similarity of its kinetics of hybridization to that of purified Lb-cDNA. The hybridization kinetics of uninfected root cDNA (RcDNA) to root poly(A) + RNA (RRNA) indicate that this abundant RNA fraction is absent in RRNA. The extent of sequence homologies between root and nodule tissue was determined by heterologous hybridizations of RcDNA to NRNA and vice versa. The data suggest that the mRNA populations of the two tissues are substantially homologous, though shifts in abundance of certain sequences are quite marked. The hybridization of purified Lb-cDNA to total polysomal RNA from developing nodules shows that the increase in concentration of Lb-mRNA sequences parallels the leghaemoglobin synthesis in this tissue. Lb sequences appear to increase between 8 and 13 days after infection with Rhizobium.