The major goals in this project on plant gene expression in actinorhizal symbiosis are:
a) To compare aspects of the molecular mechanisms involved in legume and actinorhizal root nodule development,
b) to characterize the signal molecules involved in early interactions between Alnus and Frankia and
c) to develop technical expertise to study expression of genes in woody angiosperms.
The following hypothesis has been formulated: Root nodule formation in plants involves partly the development program used in lateral root formation and partly a program unique to nodule formation. The developmental program of actinorhizal nodules is mainly based on the same program as lateral root formation, while in the developmental program of legume root nodules a larger part of the program is unique to nodule formation. This hypothesis will be tested by comparing the gene expression in plants during development of these two types of nodules.