Invasion of the fixers
How do legumes select the soil bacteria that will bring them benefits?
Rhizobia are soil bacteria that are able to form a symbiotic relationship with legumes — plants that include peas, beans and lentils. The bacteria move into cells in the roots of the plant and cause new organs called nodules to form. Inside the nodules the bacteria multiply before being released to the soil again. Also while in the nodules, the bacteria receive carbon-containing compounds from the plant. In return many of the bacteria convert (or “fix”) nitrogen from the air into compounds that the plant can use to build molecules such as DNA and proteins. Yet, some of the bacteria are “non-fixers” that provide little or no benefit to the host plant.
Evidence suggests that legumes select against non-fixer bacteria, though it was not clear when or how this selection process occurs. Daubech, Remigi et al. have now followed the number and viability of two variants of a bacteria species called Cupriavidus taiwanensisas they form a symbiotic interaction with Mimosa pudica, a member of the pea family. The two types of bacteria differed only by whether or not they were able to fix nitrogen. At first fixers and non-fixers entered nodules and multiplied at equal rates. Later, the fixers progressively outcompeted the non-fixers. Then, around 20 days after the bacteria entered the plant, nodule cells that contained non-fixers degenerated. This indicates that the nodule cells help to control bacterial proliferation based on the benefits they receive in return.
Further experiments and mathematical modeling also showed that over repeated cycles of root nodule formation, nitrogen fixers can invade a bacterial population dominated by non-fixer bacteria. The likelihood that this invasion will be successful increases as three other factors increase: the proportion of fixer bacteria in the initial population, the number of available plants, and the length of time the bacteria spend in the nodules. This mechanism ensures the maintenance and spread of nitrogen-fixing traits in the bacterial population.
Improving the processes of biological nitrogen fixation could help to reduce the amount of fertilizers required to grow crops. This in the future could help make agricultural ecosystems more sustainable. The results presented by Daubech, Remigi et al. provide guidelines that could be used to select nitrogen-fixing bacteria on legume crops or on nitrogen-fixing cereals that may be engineered in the future. Further work is now needed to understand in more detail the molecular mechanisms that lead to the death of non-fixer bacteria.
To find out more
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