scholarly journals Nod Factor Perception During Infection Thread Growth Fine-Tunes Nodulation

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Den Herder ◽  
Celine Vanhee ◽  
Riet De Rycke ◽  
Viviana Corich ◽  
Marcelle Holsters ◽  
...  

Bacterial nodulation factors (NFs) are essential signaling molecules for the initiation of a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis in legumes. NFs are perceived by the plant and trigger both local and distant responses, such as curling of root hairs and cortical cell divisions. In addition to their requirement at the start, NFs are produced by bacteria that reside within infection threads. To analyze the role of NFs at later infection stages, several phases of nodulation were studied by detailed light and electron microscopy after coinoculation of adventitious root primordia of Sesbania rostrata with a mixture of Azorhizobium caulinodans mutants ORS571-V44 and ORS571-X15. These mutants are deficient in NF production or surface polysaccharide synthesis, respectively, but they can complement each other, resulting in functional nodules occupied by ORS571-V44. The lack of NFs within the infection threads was confirmed by the absence of expression of an early NF-induced marker, leghemoglobin 6 of S. rostrata. NF production within the infection threads is shown to be necessary for proper infection thread growth and for synchronization of nodule formation with bacterial invasion. However, local production of NFs by bacteria that are taken up by the plant cells at the stage of bacteroid formation is not required for correct symbiosome development.

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gillian Turgeon ◽  
Wolfgang D. Bauer

The time course of early infection events in Glycine max following inoculation with Rhizobium japonicum is described. Bacteria became attached to epidermal cells and root hairs within minutes of inoculation. Marked root hair curling occurred within 12 h. Infection thread formation was visible at the light microscope level of resolution about 24 h after inoculation. Infections were observed in short, tightly curled root hairs. These root hairs had not yet emerged at the time of inoculation. Infection threads appeared to originate in pockets formed by contact of the cell wall of the curled root hair with itself. Infection threads in the hairs were multiple and (or) branched. By 48 h, the infection thread(s) had progressed to the base of the root hair but had not yet penetrated into the cortex. Increases in cortical cell cytoplasm and in mitotic division occurred in advance of the penetrating infection thread. A nodule meristem developed in the outer cortex next to the infected root hair by 4 days and was accompanied by cell division across the cortex.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 533-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Laus ◽  
A. A. N. van Brussel ◽  
J. W. Kijne

Infection and subsequent nodulation of legume host plants by the root nodule symbiote Rhizobium leguminosarum usually require attachment of the bacteria to root-hair tips. Bacterial cellulose fibrils have been shown to be involved in this attachment process but appeared not to be essential for successful nodulation. Detailed analysis of Vicia sativa root-hair infection by wild-type Rhizobium leguminosarum RBL5523 and its cellulose fibril-deficient celE mutant showed that wild-type bacteria infected elongated growing root hairs, whereas cellulose-deficient bacteria infected young emerging root hairs. Exopolysaccharide-deficient strains that retained the ability to produce cellulose fibrils could also infect elongated root hairs but infection thread colonization was defective. Cellulose-mediated agglutination of these bacteria in the root-hair curl appeared to prevent entry into the induced infection thread. Infection experiments with V. sativa roots and an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS)- and cellulose-deficient double mutant showed that cellulose-mediated agglutination of the EPS-deficient bacteria in the infection thread was now abolished and that infection thread colonization was partially restored. Interestingly, in this case, infection threads were initiated in root hairs that originated from the cortical cell layers of the root and not in epidermal root hairs. Apparently, surface polysaccharides of R. leguminosarum, such as cellulose fibrils, are determining factors for infection of different developmental stages of root hairs.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1444-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Lombardo ◽  
Anne B. Heckmann ◽  
Hiroki Miwa ◽  
Jillian A. Perry ◽  
Koji Yano ◽  
...  

During the symbiotic interaction between legumes and rhizobia, the host cell plasma membrane and associated plant cell wall invaginate to form a tunnel-like infection thread, a structure in which bacteria divide to reach the plant root cortex. We isolated four Lotus japonicus mutants that make infection pockets in root hairs but form very few infection threads after inoculation with Mesorhizobium loti. The few infection threads that did initiate in the mutants usually did not progress further than the root hair cell. These infection-thread deficient (itd) mutants were unaffected for early symbiotic responses such as calcium spiking, root hair deformation, and curling, as well as for the induction of cortical cell division and the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Complementation tests and genetic mapping indicate that itd2 is allelic to Ljsym7, whereas the itd1, itd3, and itd4 mutations identified novel loci. Bacterial release into host cells did occur occasionally in the itd1, itd2, and itd3 mutants suggesting that some infections may succeed after a long period and that infection of nodule cells could occur normally if the few abnormal infection threads that were formed reached the appropriate nodule cells.


1969 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 1133-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Li ◽  
D. H. Hubbell

The basis for determination of nodulating specificity in Rhizobium–clover associations was investigated. Thirteen strains of rhizobia from eight different cross-inoculation groups were used to inoculate aseptically grown strawberry clover seedlings in slide culture. Microscopic observation revealed that each strain produced characteristic root hair deformation but infection threads and nodules were observed only in the homologous combination. It is concluded that, in rhizobia–clover combinations which nodulate via infection threads, specificity is determined at or before infection thread initiation. Observations of other workers that rhizobia produce a strain-specific substance affecting growth and morphology of legume root hairs were confirmed by results of this study.


1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (14) ◽  
pp. 1633-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. Degenhardt ◽  
T. A. Larue ◽  
E. A. Paul

A non-nodulating cultivar of Pisum sativum cv. Afghanistan was studied to characterize the nature and location of the non-nodulating factor. Nodule formation was not temperature sensitive. Rhizobium leguminosarum could exist in the rhizosphere. Root secretions did not decrease nodulation in adjacent normal plants, nor did the proximity of normal plants promote nodulation. Infection threads formed in the root hairs, but nodules were not formed. The infection process apparently aborted, resulting in the formation of swellings on areas of the root where nodulation would normally occur. Grafting experiments indicate that the factor preventing nodulation is in the root and is not translocated from the cotyledon or plant top.


2006 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Puji Lestari ◽  
Kyujung Van ◽  
Moon Young Kim ◽  
Byun-Woo Lee ◽  
Suk-Ha Lee

Supernodulating soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) mutant SS2-2 and its wild-type counterpart, Sinpaldalkong 2, were examined for the microstructural events associated with nodule formation and development. SS2-2 produced a substantially higher percentage of curled root hairs than the wild type, especially at 14 days after inoculation with Bradyrhizobium japonicum. In addition, there was new evidence that in SS2-2, B. japonicum also entered through fissures created by the emerging adventitious root primordia. Early steps of nodule ontogeny were faster in SS2-2, and continued development of initiated nodules was more frequent and occurred at a higher frequency than in the wild type. These data suggest that the early expression of autoregulation is facilitated by decreasing the speed of cortical cell development, leading to the subsequent termination of less-developed nodules. The nodules of SS2-2 developed into spherical nodules like those formed on the wild type. In both the wild type and supernodulating mutant, vascular bundles bifurcate from root stele and branch off in the nodule cortex to surround the central infected zone. These findings indicate that SS2-2 has complete endosymbiosis and forms completely developed nodule vascular bundles like the wild type, but that the speed of nodule ontogeny differs between the wild type and SS2-2. Thus, SS2-2 has a novel symbiotic phenotype with regard to nodule organogenesis.Key words: Bradyrhizobium japonicum, early nodule development, Glycine max, root hair curling, supernodulation.


Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Montiel ◽  
Citlali Fonseca-García ◽  
Carmen Quinto

The mutualistic interaction between gram-negative soil bacteria and the roots of legumes leads to the establishment of nodules, where atmospheric nitrogen is fixed. Nodulation is a multistep process with numerous essential players. Among these are reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are mainly generated by Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate (NADPH) oxidases. In plants, these enzymes are known as respiratory burst oxidase homologs (RBOHs). In legumes, these proteins are encoded by a multigene family with members that are differentially expressed in various tissues and organs at distinct developmental stages. RBOHs have critical roles at several stages of nodulation: in the early signaling pathway triggered by nodulation factors in the root hairs, during both the progression of infection threads and nodule ontogeny, and in nitrogen fixation and senescence. Data from the literature along with the analysis conducted here imply that legumes use different RBOHs for different stages of nodulation; these RBOHs belong to the same phylogenetic subgroup, even though they are not strictly orthologous. Accordingly, the regulation of activity of a given RBOH during the nodulation process probably varies among legumes.


The infection of the root hairs of young seedlings of twelve species of Trifolium and of Vicia hirsuta was examined. The amount of infection (numbers of hairs containing infection threads) at 2 weeks varied much between species of host and was less affected by bacterial strain ; host and strain differences were independent. In most hosts a high proportion of infections did not result in nodule formation. The relative rate of increase in numbers of infected hairs was constant before nodulation began. The duration of this pre-nodulation phase of exponential increase in infection, but not its rate, differed between species. Nodulation (and lateral root formation) caused an abrupt lowering of the initial rate of infection. Post-nodulation infection also increased exponentially. Low concentrations of nitrate nitrogen delayed nodulation and increased the number of hairs infected. Infected hairs were not randomly distributed along the root, infection beginning at a few well-separated points. Later infections occurred near these primary foci to give zones of infection which then spread up and down the root. The positions of nodules or lateral roots were not related to the primary foci of hair infection.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 2375-2384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry E. Calvert ◽  
Mark K. Pence ◽  
Margaret Pierce ◽  
Nasir S. A. Malik ◽  
Wolfgang D. Bauer

Roots of young soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) seedlings inoculated with Rhizobium japonicum Kirchner USDA 110 ARS were examined in serial sections by light microscopy to ascertain the extent of infection. The location of each infection site was established in relation to the zones of root and root hair development at the time of inoculation. Each infection locus was classified as to its relative state of differentiation using a developmental scale encompassing the first 10 days of nodule development. Both the initiation and maturation of Rhizobium infections were found to be governed by the acropetal development of host root hairs. Regions of the root where mature root hairs were present at the time of inoculation were not susceptible to Rhizobium infection. Infections developed most frequently in root hairs which emerged shortly after inoculation. Many infections formed on the root but relatively few developed into nodules. Most infection loci which formed infection threads stopped developing at stages prior to meristem formation. A high proportion of the infection loci were pseudoinfections, i.e., localized areas of cortical cell division without infection thread formation. The maturation of infections in younger regions of the root was suppressed by prior exposure of older regions of the root to rhizobia. Development was suppressed at stages after meristem formation but before nodule emergence.


2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1051-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Ming Chen ◽  
Euan K. James ◽  
Alan R. Prescott ◽  
Martin Kierans ◽  
Janet I. Sprent

Several β-proteobacteria have been isolated from legume root nodules and some of these are thought to be capable of nodulating and fixing N2. However, in no case has there been detailed studies confirming that they are the active symbionts. Here, Ralstonia taiwanensis LMG19424, which was originally isolated from Mimosa pudica nodules, was transformed to carry the green fluorescent protein (gfp) reporter gene before being used to inoculate axenically-grown seedlings of M. pudica and M. diplotricha. Plants were harvested at various intervals for 56 days after inoculation, then examined for evidence of infection and nodule formation. Nodulation of both Mimosa spp. was abundant, and acetylene reduction assays confirmed that nodules had nitrogenase activity. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) showed that fresh M. pudica nodules with nitrogenase activity had infected cells containing bacteroids expressing gfp. In parallel, fixed and embedded nodules from both Mimosa spp. were sectioned for light and electron microscopy, followed by immunogold labeling with antibodies raised against gfp and nitrogenase Fe (nifH) protein. Significant immunolabeling with these antibodies confirmed that R. taiwanensis LMG19424 is an effective N2-fixing symbiont of Mimosa spp. Both species were infected via root hairs and, in all respects, the nodule ontogeny and development was similar to that described for other mimosoid legumes. The nodules were indeterminate with a persistent meristem, an invasion zone containing host cells being invaded via prominent infection threads, and an N2-fixing zone with infected cells containing membrane-bound symbiosomes.


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