Summary
The distribution of cobalt in plants ofT. subterraneum grown on different levels of supply of cobalt and nitrate nitrogen has been measured, and the nodules and to a lesser extent the roots have been found to accumulate much more than the leaves.
The distribution of vitamin-B12-type compounds and of Co60 in the nodule have also been determined following fractionation of the nodule components by hgh speed centrifugation. Most of the cobalt whether present as vitamin B12, or as indicated by the measurement of Co60, is present in the supernatant and in the bacteroids. The distribution of Co60 is much the same in the nodules from both effective and non-effective strains. The quantities of vitamin B12 present in both bacteroids and the supernatant are greatly increased, in relation to the fresh weight of the nodule tissue, when the supply of cobalt in the nutrient is raised.
When Co60 is incorporated into the plant a proportion of the activity is found to be present as vitamin B12, free from bacteroids, within four days of addition. After this time the supernatant still contained about 90 per cent of the activity that entered. Of this some 40 per cent was present as ionic cobalt, 19 per cent as vitamin B12 like compounds, and the remainder as a compound, presently termed Factor N, which is so far unidentified.
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Most of the data on which this paper is based are from the thesis submitted by S.B.W. for the degree of Ph. D. of the University of Nottingham.
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Wilson, S.B., Hallsworth, E.G. The distribution of cobalt inT. subterraneum . Plant Soil 23, 60–78 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01349119
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01349119