Abstract
In legumes, ENOD (early nodulin) genes are expressed in early stage of nodulation. ENOD40 is one of the ENOD genes which is also found in nonlegume plants. Although extensive research has been carried out, its function is still largely unknown. We recently found an antisense ENOD40 (asENOD40) in Lotus japonicus. We investigated the expression of asENOD40 by Real Time RT-PCR, and revealed that the expression of asENOD40 is far weaker than sense RNA (sENOD40), although it is up-regulated in nodule. Furthermore, in situ hybridization analysis showed that asENOD40 RNA exists in the infected region of the nodule, compare with sENOD40 expression near the vascular bundles of nodule. We hypothesize that asENOD40 can have a distinct role for nodulation other than its possible role for suppression of sENOD40.
