Enzymatic Treatment of Clover Root Hairs Removes a Barrier to Rhizobium-Host Specificity

Abstract

It is well established that Rhizobium loti and Rhizobium 101/u nodulate Lotus species but not Trifolium repens. We report that a barrier to this specificity can be removed by enzymatically degrading the cell wall at the apices of root hairs of Trifolium repens using a cellulase-pectolyase enzyme mixture and inoculation with R. loti or Rhizobium 101/u in the presence of polyethylene glycol. This treatment enables R. loti to induce the formation of nitrogen fixing nodules on Trifolium repens, and indicates the cell wall at root hair apices as a target site for the genetic manipulation of Rhizobium symbiotic associations.

Cite this article

Al-Mallah, M., Davey, M. & Cocking, E. Enzymatic Treatment of Clover Root Hairs Removes a Barrier to Rhizobium-Host Specificity. Nat Biotechnol 5, 1319–1322 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1287-1319

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