CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SOYBEAN EARLY NODULIN CDNA CLONE GMENOD55

Two cDNA clones of the soybean early nodulin GmENOD55 were characteriz ed. These clones may represent two members of the soybean early noduli n gene family GmENOD55. GmENOD55 has an N-terminal signal peptide and it contains an internal domain consisting of proline and serine residu es. Analyses of nodules lacking infection threads and intracellular ba cteria suggest that the GmENOD55 gene is first expressed after release of Bradyrhizobium japonicum in plant cells. This conclusion is suppor ted by in situ hybridization studies showing that the expression is re stricted to the infected cell type.