Fig. 2: TML mediates miR2111 control of L. japonicus (Lotus) lateral root (LR) initiation.

a Root phenotype of Gifu wild type (wt(G)), tml-6 and pUBQ1::MIR2111-3 plants (2111ox). Scale bars equal 1 cm. b Emerged LR numbers in wt, tml-6, tml-5 and 2111ox plants. c–e Number of LR initiations (emerged and primordial stages combined) in wt(G), 2111ox and tml-6 plants (c), on 2111ox / wt(G) (shoot / root) grafts compared to wt(G) / wt(G) control grafts (d), in mir2111-3-1 compared to wt(G) plants (e) and on mir2111-3-1 / wt(G) (shoot / root) grafts compared to wt(G) / wt(G) control grafts (f). f light grey dots represent data points not considered in the statistical analysis due to strong divergence of primary root length in the respective plants from the mean. g Plants expressing pMIR2111-3:GUS show pronounced GUS activity in leaf veins, while roots are free of visually traceable activity. Scale bar equals 1 cm. A total of 30 tested plants showed a similar expression pattern. b Datapoints are identical to datapoints at 0 mM nitrate in Fig. 3a. a–e Plants grown at 0 mM nitrate. Comparisons used Student’s t-test (*p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01) (d, e) or analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc Tukey testing (p ≤ 0.05) (b, c), with distinct letters indicating significant differences. All experiments were in ecotype Gifu B-129 (wt(G)). a–g Plants were evaluated or harvested after two weeks of cultivation (a–c, e & g) or grafting (d, f). Sample size, replicates and exact p-values are listed in the Source Data file. Boxplot central line shows median value, box limits indicate the 25th and 75th percentile. Whiskers extend 1.5 times the interquartile range, or to the last datapoint. Individual datapoints are represented by dots.