Overexpression of GmAKR1, a stress-induced aldo/keto reductase from soybean, retards nodule development

Development of symbiotic root nodules in legumes involves the induction and repression of numerous genes in conjunction with changes in the level of phytohormones. We have isolated several genes that exhibit differential expression patterns during the development of soybean nodules. One of such genes, which were repressed in mature nodules, was identified as a putative aldo/keto reductase and thus named Glycine max aldo/keto reductase 1 (GmAKR1). GmAKR1 appears to be a close relative of a yeast aldo/keto reductase YakC whose in vivo substrate has not been identified yet. The expression of GmAKR1 in soybean showed a root-specific expression pattern and inducibility by a synthetic auxin analogue 2,4-D, which appeared to be corroborated by presence of the root-specific element and the stress-response element in the promoter region. In addition, constitutive overexpression of GmAKR1 in transgenic soybean hairy roots inhibited nodule development, which suggests that it plays a negative role in the regulation of nodule development. One of the Arabidopsis orthologues of GmAKR1 is the ARF-GAP domain 2 protein, which is a potential negative regulator of vesicle trafficking; therefore GmAKR1 may have a similar function in the roots and nodules of legume plants.