Nitric oxide in legume-rhizobium symbiosis

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous signaling molecule with a broad spectrum of regulatory functions in plant growth and development. NO has been found to be involved in various pathogenic or symbiotic plant-microbe interactions. During the last decade, increasing evidence of the occurrence of NO during legume-rhizobium symbioses has been reported, from early steps of plant-bacteria interaction, to the nitrogen-fixing step in mature nodules. This review focuses on recent advances on NO production and function in nitrogen-fixing symbiosis. First, the potential plant and bacterial sources of NO, including NO synthase-like, nitrate reductase or electron transfer chains of both partners, are presented. Then responses of plant and bacterial cells to the presence of NO are presented in the context of the N₂-fixing symbiosis. Finally, the roles of NO as either a regulatory signal of development, or a toxic compound with inhibitory effects on nitrogen fixation, or an intermediate involved in energy metabolism, during symbiosis establishment and nodule functioning are discussed.     

Effect of soil moisture stress on legume-rhizobium symbiosis in soybeans

Summary In a pot culture experiment, the influence of soil moisture stress at different physiological stages of soybean, cv. Hark, on nodulation, symbiosis and nitrogen accumulation was studied. Moisture stress reduced leghemoglobin content of root nodules and nitrogen uptake by plants. It had no effect on number of bacteroids. Stress at mid bloom and rapid pod filling stages reduced yield and seed protein content. However, these parameters were not affected by stress at nodule initiation and early flowering stages, though, flower initiation and maturity of the plant were delayed. Moisture stress at any stage did not alter nitrogen status of roots.     

Cross-inoculation specificity ofPsophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC

Summary Only legumes of the cowpea cross-inoculation group, including the winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) were found to form nodules in a temperate zone soil with no previous history of legume cropping. Isolates from root nodules from uninoculated winged beans grown in the field only nodulated legumes in the cowpea cross-inoculation group.Rhizobium japonicum formed ineffective nodules with the winged bean. Contribution No.5852, Scientific Article No.A2802 of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Botany.     

Effect of two granular nematicides on growth and nodulation ofArachis hypogea L.

Summary The effect of two granular nematicidesviz. oxamyl and fenamiphos, on the nodulation and growth of Rhizobium inoculatedArachis hypogaea L. was studied in glasshouse and field trials. In the glasshouse trial at the suggested rates of application shoot fresh weight was significantly reduced by oxamyl whilst root fresh weight was similarly affected by fenamiphos. In the field trial vegetative growth and plant emergence were significantly reduced by both nematicides. Nodulation at the higher rates of application was increased by both oxamyl and fenamiphos whilst oxamyl caused a significant increase in pod number at the highest rate of application.     

Whole-genome sequencing of Mesorhizobium huakuii 7653R provides molecular insights into host specificity and symbiosis island dynamics

Background

Evidence based on genomic sequences is urgently needed to confirm the phylogenetic relationship between Mesorhizobium strain MAFF303099 and M. huakuii. To define underlying causes for the rather striking difference in host specificity between M. huakuii strain 7653R and MAFF303099, several probable determinants also require comparison at the genomic level. An improved understanding of mobile genetic elements that can be integrated into the main chromosomes of Mesorhizobium to form genomic islands would enrich our knowledge of how genome dynamics may contribute to Mesorhizobium evolution in general.

Results

In this study, we sequenced the complete genome of 7653R and compared it with five other Mesorhizobium genomes. Genomes of 7653R and MAFF303099 were found to share a large set of orthologs and, most importantly, a conserved chromosomal backbone and even larger perfectly conserved synteny blocks. We also identified candidate molecular differences responsible for the different host specificities of these two strains. Finally, we reconstructed an ancestral Mesorhizobium genomic island that has evolved into diverse forms in different Mesorhizobium species.

Conclusions

Our ortholog and synteny analyses firmly establish MAFF303099 as a strain of M. huakuii. Differences in nodulation factors and secretion systems T3SS, T4SS, and T6SS may be responsible for the unique host specificities of 7653R and MAFF303099 strains. The plasmids of 7653R may have arisen by excision of the original genomic island from the 7653R chromosome.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-440) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Sensitivity of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) symbiosis to high soil temperature

Summary Experiments were done to test whether N fixation is more sensitive to high soil temperatures in common bean than in cowpea or soybean. Greenhouse experiments compared nodulation, nitrogenase activity, growth and nitrogen accumulation of several host/strain combinations of common bean with the other grain legumes and with N-fertilization, at various root temperatures. Field experiments compared relative N-accumulation (in symbiotic relative to N-fertilized plants) of common bean with cowpea under different soil thermal regimes. N-fertilized beans were unaffected by the higher temperatures, but nitrogen accumulation by symbiotic beans was always more sensitive to high root temperatures (33°C, 33/28°C, 34/28°C compared with 28°C) than were cowpea and soybean symbiosis. Healthy bean nodules that had developed at low temperatures functioned normally in acetylene reduction tests done at 35°C. High temperatures caused little or no suppression of nodule number. However, bean nodules produced at high temperatures were small and had low specific activity. ForP. vulgaris some tolerance to high temperature was observed among rhizobium strains (e.g., CIAT 899 was tolerant) but not among host cultivars. Heat tolerance ofP. acutifolius andP. lunatus symbioses was similar to that of cowpea and soybean. In the field, high surface soil temperatures did not reduce N accumulation in symbiotic beans more than in cowpea, probably because of compensatory nodulation in the deeper and cooler parts of the soil.     

Gas exchange characteristics and dry matter accumulation of soybean treated with Nod factors

The effect of Nod factors on gas exchange characteristics and growth of soybean plants was studied. Soybean responded positively to some concentrations of Nod factors. Photosynthesis was increased up to 13% over the control, and this was accompanied by increases in stomatal conductance; plant dry weight was also increased. Near-fully expanded leaves responded more strongly to Nod factors than fully expanded leaves. Only Nod factor NodBj-V (C18:1, MeFuc) had significant effects on soybean. The finding suggests that Nod factors can affect photosynthesis, possibly indirectly, by stimulating sink strength.     

Egg size of skippers (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in relation to their host specificity and to leaf toughness of host plants

The adaptive significance of egg size of skippers (Lepidoptera; Hesperiidae) in Japan was evaluated in relation to the leaf toughness of their major host grasses. The hesperids that fed on tougher grasses laid larger eggs. Hesperids that laid larger eggs were larger in body size, but lower in fecundity. They also had a wider host range. Thus, despite the lower fecundity, hesperids may benefit from large eggs by having a wider host range of larvae. Grass feeders had wider range of host plants than broadleaf feeders.     

TheRhizobium-legume symbiosis Two methods to discriminate between nodules and other root-derived structures

Summary Two methods have been developed in order to discriminate between lateral roots, nodules and root-derived structures which exhibit both root and nodule histological features and which can develop on legumes inoculated with certainRhizobium mutants. The first method, known as the clearing method, allows the observation by light microscopy of cleared undissected root-structures. The second, known as the slicing method, is a complementary technique which provides a greater degree of structural information concerning such structures. The two methods have proved invaluable in defining unequivocally the nature of the interaction between a rhizobial strain and a legume host.     

Transmission as a predictor of ecological host specificity with a focus on vertical transmission of microsporidia

Consideration of vertical transmission is particularly important for understanding the life cycles of entomopathogens that are naturally occurring in invertebrate populations, are a problem in beneficial insect colonies, or are under consideration as classical biological control agents. Empirical studies generally corroborate the evolutionary hypothesis that virulence should be relatively low for pathogen species that utilize vertical transmission as one mechanism for maintenance in the host population. Nevertheless, many entomopathogens with significant effects on host populations are vertically as well as horizontally transmitted. In addition to gaining a better understanding of pathogen-host interactions and population dynamics, studies of the host range and specificity of putative biological control agents can benefit by using transmission studies to better predict ecological host specificity from physiological data. Horizontal transmission requires a tightly organized host-pathogen relationship to succeed, but still involves, albeit restricted by host behavior and pathogen dosage, the physiological susceptibility of the nontarget host. Vertical transmission studies can provide increased stringency for determining the ecological host specificity of a species and may be one very accurate predictor of the ability of a pathogen to successfully host-switch when introduced into a na?ve population.     

费氏中华根瘤菌共生质粒扩增对结瘤因子组分和共生固氮能力的影响

费氏中华根瘤菌(Sinorhizobium fredii)YC4能在大豆(Glycine max)和野大豆(G．soja)上形成正常固氮的根瘤．人工培养条件下用^14C标记的薄层层析(TLC)法检测根瘤菌产生的结瘤因子(LCOs)的结果表明,与其它4株费氏中华根瘤菌相比,YC4产生的LCOs含有较多的疏水性基团．从YC4菌株中分离到1株共生质粒发生了扩增的自发突变株YSC3,其产生的LCOs中含有较野生型菌株多的1个疏水性组分,28℃培养条件下产生的LCOs量亦较YC4显著增加．结瘤试验结果表明,YSC3菌株只能在大豆和野大豆上形成无效的根瘤．     

大都市卫星城的城市用地增长及其驱动力——以上海松江区为例

快速城市化过程中,大城市对周边中小城市的城市化具有辐射和带动作用,但周边中小城市的城市空间扩展如何响应大城市的这种影响却很少有研究。本文以上海松江区为例,应用遥感航片解译的多时相土地利用数据,研究大城市对周边中小城市的城市用地增长的影响。结果表明:受大城市城市化和区域经济快速发展的影响,上海市卫星城——松江区的城市用地增长呈现出明显的空间各向异性;城市形态的发展具有明显的大都市向心性;城市用地增长呈加速度发展,并超过大城市的发展速度。研究结果很好地验证了城市形态发展理论中的集中-扩散理论;政府决策、经济发展和人口增长,以及道路交通等基础设施的发展是促进松江区城市扩展的主要驱动因素。     

LysM domains of Medicago truncatula NFP protein involved in Nod factor perception. Glycosylation state, molecular modeling and docking of chitooligosaccharides and Nod factors

The establishment of the symbiosis between legume plants and rhizobial bacteria depends on the production of rhizobial lipo-chitooligosaccharidic signals (the Nod factors) that are specifically recognized by roots of the host plant. In Medicago truncatula, specific recognition of Sinorhizobium meliloti and its Nod factors requires the NFP (Nod factor perception) gene, which encodes a putative serine/threonine receptor-like kinase (RLK). The extracellular region of this protein contains three tandem lysin motifs (LysMs), a short peptide domain that is implicated in peptidoglycan or chitin binding in various bacterial or eukaryotic proteins, respectively. We report here the homology modeling of the three LysM domains of M. truncatula NFP based on the structure of a LysM domain of the Escherichia coli membrane-bound lytic murein transglycosidase D (MltD). Expression of NFP in a homologous system (M. truncatula roots) revealed that the protein is highly N-glycosylated, probably with both high-mannose and complex glycans. Surface analysis and docking calculations performed on the models of the three domains were used to predict the most favored binding modes for chitooligosaccharides and Nod factors. A convergent model can be proposed where the sulfated, O-acetylated lipo-chitooligosaccharidic Nod factor of S. meliloti binds in similar orientation to the three LysM domains of M. truncatula NFP. N-glycosylation is not expected to interfere with Nod factor binding in this orientation.     

Competition of strains of Rhizobium of the cowpea group in two soil types

Summary Competition of five strains of Rhizobium of the cowpea group, onVigna radiata (L) Wilcjeck variety ML 5, was tested in loamy clay and loamy sand soils. Strains RM 6 and RM 5 were effective nodulators in loamy clay soil, and strains MNH, M 20 and RM 6 were effective nodulators in loamy sand soil. Strains RM 6 and MNH predominated nodule formation in loamy clay and loamy sand soils respectively.     

Phenology, distribution, and host specificity of Solenopsis invicta virus-1

Studies were conducted to examine the phenology, geographic distribution, and host specificity of the Solenopsis invicta virus-1 (SINV-1). Two genotypes examined, SINV-1 and -1A, exhibited similar seasonal prevalence patterns. Infection rates among colonies of S. invicta in Gainesville, Florida, were lowest from early winter (December) to early spring (April) increasing rapidly in late spring (May) and remaining high through August before declining again in the fall (September/October). Correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between mean monthly temperature and SINV-1 (p<0.0005, r=0.82) and SINV-1A (p<0.0001, r=0.86) infection rates in S. invicta colonies. SINV-1 was widely distributed among S. invicta populations. The virus was detected in S. invicta from Argentina and from all U.S. states examined, with the exception of New Mexico. SINV-1 and -1A were also detected in other Solenopsis species. SINV-1 was detected in Solenopsis richteri and the S. invicta/richteri hybrid collected from northern Alabama and Solenopsis geminata from Florida. SINV-1A was detected in S. geminata and Solenopsis carolinensis in Florida and the S. invicta/richteri hybrid in Alabama. Of the 1989 arthropods collected from 6 pitfall trap experiments from Gainesville and Williston, Florida, none except S. invicta tested positive for SINV-1 or SINV-1A. SINV-1 did not appear to infect or replicate within Sf9 or Dm-2 cells in vitro. The number of SINV-1 genome copies did not significantly increase over the course of the experiment, nor were any cytopathic effects observed. Phylogenetic analyses of SINV-1/-1A nucleotide sequences indicated significant divergence between viruses collected from Argentina and the U.S.