IL-6 supports the generation of human long-lived plasma cells in combination with either APRIL or stromal cell-soluble factors.

The recent understanding of plasma cell (PC) biology has been obtained mainly from murine models. The current concept is that plasmablasts home to the BM and further differentiate into long-lived PCs (LLPCs). These LLPCs survive for months in contact with a complex niche comprising stromal cells (SCs) and hematopoietic cells, both producing recruitment and survival factors. Using a multi-step culture system, we show here the possibility to differentiate human memory B cells into LLPCs surviving for at least 4 months in vitro and producing immunoglobulins continuously. A remarkable feature is that IL-6 is mandatory to generate LLPCs in vitro together with either APRIL or soluble factors produced by SCs, unrelated to APRIL/BAFF, SDF-1, or IGF-1. These LLPCs are out of the cell cycle, express highly PC transcription factors and surface markers. This model shows a remarkable robustness of human LLPCs, which can survive and produce highly immunoglobulins for months in vitro without the contact with niche cells, providing the presence of a minimal cocktail of growth factors and nutrients. This model should be useful to understand further normal PC biology and its deregulation in premalignant or malignant PC disorders.

Leaf nitrogen remobilisation for plant development and grain filling.

A major challenge of modern agriculture is to reduce the excessive input of fertilisers and, at the same time, to improve grain quality without affecting yield. One way to achieve this goal is to improve plant nitrogen economy through manipulating nitrogen recycling, and especially nitrogen remobilisation, from senescing plant organs. In this review, the contribution of nitrogen remobilisation efficiency (NRE) to global nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and tools dedicated to the determination of NRE are described. An overall examination of the physiological, metabolic and genetic aspects of nitrogen remobilisation is presented.

A strong constitutive positive element is essential for the ammonium-regulated expression of a soybean gene encoding cytosolic glutamine synthetase.

In order to identify important promoter elements controlling the ammonium-regulated expression of the soybean gene GS15 encoding cytosolic glutamine synthetase, a series of 5' promoter deletions were fused to the GUS reporter gene. To allow the detection of positive and negative regulatory elements, a series of 3' deletions were fused to a -90 CaMV 35S promoter fragment placed upstream of the GUS gene. Both types of construct were introduced into Lotus corniculatus plants and soybean roots via Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation. Both spectrophotometric enzymatic analysis and histochemical localization of GUS activity in roots, root nodules and shoots of transgenic plants revealed that a strong constitutive positive element (SCPE) of 400 bp, located in the promoter distal region is indispensable for the ammonium-regulated expression of GS15. Interestingly, this SCPE was able to direct constitutive expression in both a legume and non-legume background to a level similar to that driven by the CaMV 35S full-length promoter. In addition, results showed that separate proximal elements, located in the first 727 bp relative to the transcription start site, are essential for root- and root nodule-specific expression. This proximal region contains an AAAGAT and two TATTTAT consensus sequences characteristic of nodulin or nodule-enhanced gene promoters. A putative silencer region containing the same TATTTAT consensus sequence was identified between the SCPE and the organ-specific elements. The presence of positive, negative and organ-specific elements together with the three TATTTAT consensus sequences within the promoter strongly suggest that these multiple promoter fragments act in a cooperative manner, depending on the spatial conformation of the DNA for trans-acting factor accessibility.

NolR controls expression of the Rhizobium meliloti nodulation genes involved in the core Nod factor synthesis.

The synthesis of Rhizobium meliloti Nod signal molecules, encoded by the nod gene products, is finely regulated. A negative control of plasmid-borne nod gene expression is provided by the NolR repressor encoded by the chromosomal nolR gene. NolR was previously shown to downregulate the expression of the activator nodD1 gene and the common nodABC operon by binding to an overlapping region of the two promoters adjacent to the n1 nod-box (Kondorosi et al., 1989). We demonstrate here that NolR also controls the expression of two additional genes, nodD2 and nodM, but does not directly regulate the expression of the host-specific nod genes located downstream of the n2, n3 and n5 nod-boxes. Thus, the nod genes are differentially regulated by NolR and only those providing common nodulation functions, by determining the synthesis of the core Nod factor structure, are subjected to this negative regulation. Furthermore, NolR has a strong negative effect on the production of Nod metabolites, the level of which may serve as a fine-tuning mechanism for optimal nodulation, specific to host-plant genotypes. In addition, it elicits preferential synthesis of Nod factors carrying unsaturated C16 fatty acids. Expression of nolR was high both in the free-living bacterium and in the bacteroid and it was downregulated by its own product and by the nod gene inducer luteolin.

An insertional point mutation inactivates NolR repressor in Rhizobium meliloti 1021.

In the majority of Rhizobium meliloti isolates, nod gene expression is controlled by NolR, but this is not the case in a few strains including the widely used laboratory strain 1021. In 1021, the lack of NolR function was shown to be due to a single insertional mutation in the C-terminal coding sequence which abolished the DNA-binding ability, though the helix-turn-helix motif remained intact. This indicates that the C-terminal part of the protein is also essential for DNA binding. We conclude that in this species, control of nod gene expression involves NolR and strain 1021 represents an exception in which the NolR function was lost by a single event.

Involvement of the syrM and nodD3 genes of Rhizobium meliloti in nod gene activation and in optimal nodulation of the plant host.

We identified and sequenced the regulatory syrM and nodD3 genes of Rhizobium meliloti 41. Both genes were shown to contribute to optimal nodulation of alfalfa. In R. meliloti strains carrying syrM and nodD3 on plasmid, the nod genes are expressed constitutively, resulting in host-range extension to siratro. This is due to the presence of multiple syrM copies, suggesting that SyrM participates directly in nod gene activation. NodD3 activates nod genes in conjunction with flavonoids and enhances syrM expression, which is controlled also by its own product, NodD2, and two putative trans-acting factors. nodD3 is regulated by SyrM, NodD1, nodD3, the repressor NoIR, and two putative factors.

Identification of NolR, a negative transacting factor controlling the nod regulon in Rhizobium meliloti.

In Rhizobium meliloti, expression of the nodulation genes (nod and nol genes) is under both positive and negative controls. These genes are activated by the products of the three related nodD genes, in conjunction with signal molecules from the host plants. We showed that negative regulation is mediated by a repressor protein, binding to the overlapping nodD1 and nodA as well as to the nodD2 promoters. The encoding gene, termed nolR, was identified and cloned from strain 41. By subcloning, deletion and Tn5 mutagenesis, a region of 594 base-pairs was found to be necessary and sufficient for repressor production in strains of R. meliloti lacking the repressor or in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis revealed that nolR encodes a 13,349 Da protein, which is in agreement with the molecular weight of the NolR protein, determined after purification by affinity chromatography, utilizing long synthetic DNA multimers of the 21 base-pair conserved repressor-binding sequence. Our data suggest that the native NolR binds to the operator site in dimeric form. The NolR contains a helix-turn-helix motif, which shows homology to the DNA-binding sequences of numerous prokaryotic regulatory proteins such as the repressor XylR or the activator NodD and other members of the LysR family. Comparison of the putative DNA-binding helix-turn-helix motifs of a large number of regulatory proteins pointed to a number of novel regularities in this sequence. Hybridizations with an internal nolR fragment showed that sequences homologous to the nolR gene are present in all R. meliloti isolates tested, even in those that do not produce the repressor. In another species, such as Rhizobium leguminosarum, where NodD is autoregulated, however, such sequences were not detected.