Work

Sinorhizobium meliloti Chemoreceptor McpV Senses Short-Chain Carboxylates via Direct Binding

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Legumes share a unique association with certain soil-dwelling bacteria known broadly as rhizobia. Through concerted interorganismal communication, a legume allows intracellular infection by its cognate rhizobial species. The plant then forms an organ, the root nodule, dedicated to housing and supplying fixed carbon and nutrients to the bacteria. In return, the engulfed rhizobia, differentiated into bacteroids, fix atmospheric N 2 into ammonium for the plant host. This interplay is of great benefit to the cultivation of legumes, such as alfalfa and soybeans, and is initiated by chemotaxis to the host plant. This study on carboxylate chemotaxis contributes to the understanding of rhizobial survival and competition in the rhizosphere and aids the development of commercial inoculants.

Source: Journal of Bacteriology

DOI: 10.1128/jb.00519-18

Authors: K. Karl Compton, Sherry B. Hildreth, Richard F. Helm, Birgit E. Scharf

Institution: Virginia Tech

Language: English

Topic: Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Awards: G5353710803, G7691263018, CAREER: Novel Determinants of Motility and Chemotaxis in Sinorhizobium meliloti