Summary
Nitrate added at critical concentrations to plant growth medium inhibits the infection of legume roots by Rhizobium. The direct interaction, of nitrate and trifoliin A, a Rhizobium-recognition lection from white clover (Trifolium repens L.), was examined as a possible basis for this regulation. Selective molecular ultrafiltration studies to detect ligand-protein interactions showed that radioactive13NO3 − did not bind directly to trifoliin A when incubated at two molar ratios. Immunoprecipitation of trifoliin A by its homologous antibody was unaffected by 15 mM NO3 −. In addition, there was no apparent reduction in attachment ofR. trifolii 0403 to root hairs of clover seedings during 1 h of incubation in the presence of 15 mM NO3 −. These results show that nitrate inhibition of these early steps of the infection process is not due to a direct interaction of nitrate with trifoliin A or its glycosylated receptors.
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Dazzo, F.B., Hrabak, E.M. Lack of a direct nitrate-trifoliin A interaction in the Rhizobium-clover symbiosis. Plant Soil 69, 259–264 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374520
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374520