Abstract
The bacterium Rhizobium nodulates leguminous and some non -leguminous plants and establishes a symbiotic relationship with its host plant in which the bacterium fixes nitrogen, after differentiation to bacteroids. The symbiosis is host-specific, i.e. each species of Rhizobium nodulates only a limited set of host plants. Rhizobium leguminosarum nodulates plants like Pisum and Vicia, R.trifolii nodulates only Trifolium, and R.meliloti nodulates Melilotus and Medicago. Nodulation is a complex process in which probably many signals from the plant to the bacterium and vice versa are involved. The molecular mechanism of most of the steps in this process are still unknown, but recent results provide some insight into the first signals necessary for nodulation.
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Zaat, S.A.J., Spaink, H.P., Wijffelman, C.A., van Brussel, A.A.N., Okker, R.J.H., Lugtenberg, B.J.J. (1988). Flavonoid Compounds as Molecular Signals in Rhizobium — Legume Symbiosis. In: Scannerini, S., Smith, D., Bonfante-Fasolo, P., Gianinazzi-Pearson, V. (eds) Cell to Cell Signals in Plant, Animal and Microbial Symbiosis. NATO ASI Series, vol 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73154-9_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73154-9_14
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