Plants able to establish a nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis with the actinobacterium Frankia are called actinorhizal. These interactions lead to the formation of new root organs, called actinorhizal nodules, where the bacteria are hosted intracellularly and fix atmospheric nitrogen thus providing the plant with an almost unlimited source of nitrogen for its nutrition. Like other symbiotic interactions, actinorhizal nodulation involves elaborate signalling between both partners of the symbiosis, leading to specific recognition between the plant and its compatible microbial partner, its accommodation inside plant cells and the development of functional root nodules. Actinorhizal nodulation shares many features with rhizobial nodulation but our knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in actinorhizal nodulation remains very scarce. However recent technical achievements for several actinorhizal species are allowing major discoveries in this field. In this review, we provide an outline on signalling molecules involved at different stages of actinorhizal nodule formation and the corresponding signalling pathways and gene networks.
Keywords: Actinobacteria; Actinorhizal species; Biological nitrogen fixation; Microbe-host signalling; Nodulation; Nodulation factors; Symbiosis.