Gene expression data from phosphinothricin (PPT) treated Medicago truncatula root nodules

Nitrogen assimilation in plants is a tightly regulated process that integrates developmental and environmental signals. The legume-rhizobial symbiosis results in the formation of a specialized organ called root nodule, where the rhizobia fixes atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. Ammonia is assimilated by the plant enzyme glutamine synthetase, which is specifically inhibited by PPT. The expression of key genes related to the regulation of root nodule metabolism will likely be affected by glutamine synthetase inhibition. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression in response to Glutamine synthetase inhibition in root nodules and identified genes differentially expressed over a time course. Medicago truncatula nodulated plants (20 days post inoculation) were treated with 0.25 mM of PPT. Root nodules were harvested at 4, 8 and 24 hours after PPT application. As a control, root nodules collected just before PPT application were used (PPT 0h). Three biological replicates consisting of pools of root nodules harvested from five distinct plants were used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix GeneChips.