Molecular Characterization of LjABCG1, an ATP-Binding Cassette Protein in Lotus japonicus

LjABCG1, a full-size ABCG subfamily of ATP-binding cassette proteins of a model legume, Lotus japonicus, was reported as a gene highly expressed during the early stages of nodulation, but have not been characterized in detail. In this study we showed that the induction of LjABCG1 expression was remarkable by methyl jasmonate treatment, and reporter gene experiments indicated that LjABCG1 was strongly expressed in the nodule parenchyma and cell layers adjacent to the root vascular tissue toward the nodule. LjABCG1 was suggested to be localized at the plasma membrane based on the fractionation of microsomal membranes as well as separation via aqueous two-phase partitioning. The physiological functions of LjABCG1 in symbiosis and pathogenesis were analyzed in homologous and heterologous systems. LjABCG1 knock-down L. japonicus plants did not show clear phenotypic differences in nodule formation, and not in defense against Pseudomonas syringae, either. In contrast, when LjABCG1 was expressed in the Arabidopsis pdr8-1 mutant, the penetration frequency of Phytophthora infestans, a potato late blight pathogen, was significantly reduced in LjABCG1/pdr8-1 than in pdr8-1 plants. This finding indicated that LjABCG1, at least partially, complemented the phenotype of pdr8 in Arabidopsis, suggesting the multiple roles of this protein in plant-microbe interactions.