Functional characterization of a new Lipid Transfer Protein with antimicrobial properties from Medicago truncatula

Non specific Lipid Transfer Proteins (nsLTPs) form a multigenic protein family in plants. They are able to bind in vitro different lipids but their function in vivo remains speculative. They have been suggested to participate to many aspects of plant physiology and cell biology, including assembly of extracellular hydrophobic polymers and involvement in stress and pathogen responses. To understand whether MtN5, a new LTP2 identified in Medicago truncatula nodulated roots, plays a possible role in plant defence mechanisms, we investigated its antifungal and antibacterial properties.