Abstract
The symbiotic interaction between the tropical leguminous plant Sesbania rostrata and the bacterium Azorhizobium caulinodans strain ORS571 is in many aspects a unique one (De Bruijn, 1989). In contrast to most legumes that form nitrogen-fixing nodules only on the roots, S. rostrata can be nodulated on the roots and the stem. The aerial nodules are formed at predetermined sites that are dormant root primordia located in vertical rows along the stem. These primordia develop into roots when immersed in water and/or into nodules upon infection with A. caulinodans. Root and stem nodule organogenesis are very similar and are intermediate between the indeterminate and determinate types of nodule development (Ndoye et al., 1994). Nodulation of S. rostrata stems is relatively unaffected by combined nitrogen and can be very extensive resulting in an extremely high fixation rate per plant. The closest relative of A. caulinodans is the diazotroph Xanthobacter, and A. caulinodans is unique amongst rhizobia in being capable of both symbiotic and free-living nitrogen fixation, the latter with assimilation of the formed ammonium for growth.
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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Mergaert, P. et al. (1995). Early Events in the Azorhizobium Caulinodans—Sesbania Rostrata Symbiosis. In: Tikhonovich, I.A., Provorov, N.A., Romanov, V.I., Newton, W.E. (eds) Nitrogen Fixation: Fundamentals and Applications. Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0379-4_8
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