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Accumulation of an Aromatic Amine, β-Phenethylamine, in Root Nodules of Adzuki Bean Vigna angularis

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Abstract

Neuroactive aromatic amines acting on the central nervous system are widespread in the plant kingdom. We have previously found β-phenethylamine (β-PHA), one of the aromatic alkaloids, in root nodules of various annual legume crops. The present study was undertaken to determine the site of β-PHA accumulation within root nodules of the adzuki bean Vigna angularis. High concentrations of β-PHA were always detected in the alkaloid fraction of adzuki bean root nodules. Related aromatic amines such as tyramine, dopamine, and other β-PHA derivatives, which are found in various medicinal plants, were not detected in adzuki bean root nodules. The amounts of β-PHA in root nodules varied not only with the growth stage of the host plant, but also with nodule age; β-PHA levels increased with nodule development, but declined with nodule senescence. Adzuki bean nodules, after crushing with a grinding medium, were separated into bacteroids and a nodule cytosol fraction. A large amount of β-PHA was detected in the bacteroids, while a very small amount was prsent in the nodule cytosol fraction derived from plant cells. The bacteroids in the mature nodules contained considerably higher amounts of β-PHA than did those in immature or senescent nodules. The formation of β-PHA in root-nodule bacteria was then tested using eight strains of Rhizobiaceae (Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium and Sinorhizobium), including a strain isolated from root nodules of field-grown adzuki bean plant. None of the cultured cells produced β-PHA in liquid media in the presence or absence of phenylalanine, a putative precursor of β-PHA. Nitrogen-fixing bacteroids within nodules are the cells uniquely differentiated from root-nodule bacteria. The present results suggest that β-PHA is formed associated with the differentiation of vegetative bradyrhizobia into nitrogen-fixing bacteroids with the plant host cells.

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Abbreviations

β-PHC:

β-phenethylamine

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Nutrition Diagnosis, National Agricultural Research Center, Kannondai 3-1-1, Tsukuba, 305-8666, Japan

    Shinsuke Fujihara & Junko Terakado

  2. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-8471, Japan

    Junko Terakado

  3. Shikoku University Junior College, Tokushima, 771-1192, Japan

    Naoyoshi Nishibori

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  1. Shinsuke Fujihara
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  2. Junko Terakado
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  3. Naoyoshi Nishibori
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Correspondence to Shinsuke Fujihara.

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Fujihara, S., Terakado, J. & Nishibori, N. Accumulation of an Aromatic Amine, β-Phenethylamine, in Root Nodules of Adzuki Bean Vigna angularis. Plant Soil 280, 229–237 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-3096-4

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