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Bacteriochlorophyll-Containing Rhizobium Species

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Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 2))

Summary

The Green Revolution has allowed food production in many developing countries to keep pace with population growth. But the use of chemical fertilizers as a source of fixed nitrogen is expensive and creates environmental problems. The United States Agency for International Development sponsored a collaboration between U. S. and Indian scientists to develop sources ofbiologically-fixed nitrogen fertilizers. This effort led to the discovery that photosynthetic rhizobia are found in nitrogen-fixing nodules located on the stems of Aeschynomene, a legume used as a green manure in rice fields. Such rhizobia now have been isolated from Aeschynomene nodules and soils throughout the world. Photosynthetic rhizobia which nodulate a different genus, Lotononis, have been discovered recently.

The rhizobium has the photosynthetic properties of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs. It will grow, produce the photosynthetic system and perform photosynthetic electron transport only under aerobic conditions. It can fix nitrogen in ex planta culture and grow in the absence of any other source of fixed nitrogen. Phylogenetic studies based on 16S rRNA sequences and numerical taxonomy suggest that all of the Aeschynomene isolates are closely related to each other and form a cluster with Bradyrhizobium and Rhodopseudomonas palustris in the alpha-2 subdivision of the class Proteobacteria.

Formation of the photosynthetic system is triggered by visible and far-red light, and is suppressed by visible light. The photosynthetic system of the stem nodule endophytes probably provides energy for nitrogen fixation, diminishing competition between carbon and nitrogen fixation and allowing for more efficient plant growth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, 45435, USA

    Darrell E. Fleischman

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, 45435, USA

    William R. Evans

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    Iain M. Miller

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  1. Darrell E. Fleischman
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  2. William R. Evans
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  3. Iain M. Miller
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

    Robert E. Blankenship

  2. Department of Microbiology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA

    Michael T. Madigan

  3. Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Carl E. Bauer

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© 1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Fleischman, D.E., Evans, W.R., Miller, I.M. (1995). Bacteriochlorophyll-Containing Rhizobium Species. In: Blankenship, R.E., Madigan, M.T., Bauer, C.E. (eds) Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47954-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47954-0_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-3681-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-47954-0

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