Major flavonoids in uninoculated and inoculated roots of Vicia sativa subsp. nigra are four conjugates of the nodulation gene-inhibitor kaempferol

Inoculation of Vicia sativa subsp. nigra (V. sativa) roots with Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar. viciae (R.l. viciae) bacteria substantially increases the ability of V. sativa to induce rhizobial nodulation (nod) genes. This increase is caused by the additional release of flavanones and chalcones which all induce the nod genes of R.l. viciae (K. Recourt et al., Plant Mol Biol 16: 841–852). In this paper, we describe the analyses of the flavonoids present in roots of V. sativa. Independent of inoculation with R.l. viciae, these roots contain four 3-O-glycosides of the flavonol kaempferol. These flavonoids appeared not capable of inducing the nod genes of R.l. viciae but instead are moderately active in inhibiting the activated state of those nod genes. Roots of 7-day-old V. sativa seedlings did not show any kaempferol-glycosidase activity consistent with the observation that kaempferol is not released upon inoculation with R.l. viciae. It is therefore most likely that inoculation with infective (nodulating) R.l. viciae bacteria results in de novo flavonoid biosynthesis and not in liberation of flavonoids from a pre-existing pool.