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Architecture of Infection Thread Networks in Nitrogen-Fixing Root Nodules

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Plant Cell Monographs

Part of the book series: Plant Cell Monographs

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Abstract

During the development of nitrogen-fixing root nodules, symbiotic bacteria are often delivered to the nodule interior by a network of tubes formed by the invagination of plant cell wall and plasma membrane. These tubes, called infection threads, are cooperatively constructed by both the plant host and its symbiotic bacteria. This chapter outlines how infection threads develop in root hairs and in root cortical cells, and how the three-dimensional architecture of infection thread networks in nodules change during the course of nodule development. Three-dimensional reconstructions of infection thread networks inside M. truncatulanodules infected with Sinorhizobium melilotishow that the infection threads form relatively simple, treelike networks that exhibit changes in growth orientation as nodules mature. Questions concerning possible mechanisms that determine the direction of infection thread development in nodule tissue, and whether or not the mechanisms of infection thread construction in nodule tissue differ from those in root hairs, are discussed.

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  1. D.J. Gage Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 91 N. Eagleville Road, U-3125, Storrs, CT, 06269-3125, USA

    D. J. Gage

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Gage, D.J. (2008). Architecture of Infection Thread Networks in Nitrogen-Fixing Root Nodules. In: Plant Cell Monographs. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/7089_2008_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/7089_2008_5

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