MLEC and infection: However, in the symrk-14 mutant plants that harbor a point mutation at GDPC motif linking malectin and LRR domains, epidermal responses including infection thread formation were significantly reduced, while the formation of nodule primordia and cortical infection were slightly changed (Kosuta et al., 2011), suggesting that epidermal response and cortical program might be differentially regulated during symbiotic interaction with rhizobia.