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Two effects of combined nitrogen on the adhesion of Rhizobium etli to bean roots

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Abstract

Combined forms of nitrogen negatively influence rhizobia-legume symbiosis. The effects of combined nitrogen are known for nodulation and dinitrogen (N2) fixation, but little is known about the effect on preinfection events. Here, we studied the effects of combined nitrogen on the adhesion of Rhizobium etli to common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) roots. When potassium nitrate (KNO3) or sodium glutamate was added to an incubation mixture of rhizobia and plants that were previously grown in nitrogen-free solution, rhizobial adhesion to roots was stimulated. However, the rhizobial adhesion to bean roots that were previously grown with 10 mM KNO3 was reduced by half. A fraction of the bean root exudates, which is thermolabile and has molecular mass larger than 12 kDa stimulated rhizobial adhesion, but this stimulatory activity was lost in root exudates obtained with 10 mM KNO3. Thus, the inhibition of symbiosis in response to combined nitrogen may be controlled by the plant at the preinfection stage as well.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT, Argentina). JPG is researcher at Universidad Nacional de La Plata and ARL is member of the Scientific Career of Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), both of Argentina. The authors are grateful to Paula Giménez, Silvana Tongiani, Abel Bortolameotti and Bernabé Castillo for their excellent technical assistance.

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  1. Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata y CCT-La Plata CONICET, Calles 47 y 115, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Julieta Pérez-Giménez & Aníbal R. Lodeiro

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  1. Julieta Pérez-Giménez
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  2. Aníbal R. Lodeiro
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Correspondence to Aníbal R. Lodeiro.

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Pérez-Giménez, J., Lodeiro, A.R. Two effects of combined nitrogen on the adhesion of Rhizobium etli to bean roots. Symbiosis 59, 157–163 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-013-0229-z

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