The Nodule Microbiome: N2-Fixing Rhizobia Do Not Live Alone

By Pilar Martínez-Hidalgo, A. Hirsch. 2017

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For decades, rhizobia were thought to be the only nitrogen-fixing inhabitants of legume nodules, and biases in culture techniques prolonged this belief. However, other bacteria, which are not typical rhizobia, are often detected within nodules obtained from soil, thus revealing the existence of a phytomicrobiome where the interaction among the individuals is not only complex, but also likely to affect the behavior and fitness of the host plant. Many of these nonrhizobial bacteria are nitrogen fixers, and some also induce nitrogen-fixing nodules on legume roots. Even more striking is the incredibly diverse population of bacteria residing within nodules that elicit neither nodulation nor nitrogen fixation. Yet, this community exists within the nodule, albeit clearly out-numbered by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Few studies of the function of these nodule-associated bacteria in nodules have been performed, and to date, it is not known whether their presence in nodules is biologically important or not. Do they co...

Subfields: Agronomy and Crop Science, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a9708c8cbdcde1120266712396480af45d156829