Comparative study on effective and ineffective nodules of leguminous plants

Abstract

Abstract It is well known that nitrogen fixation is mainly dependent upon the combination between rhizobial strain and host plant species, though it is also affected by the environmental condition. The site of association between the host and rhizobia is the root nodule. It is, therefore, quite natural that special attention has hitherto been focused on it. A typical symbiotic relationship is going on in effective nodule, while a parasitic relationship prevails in ineffective one. Between such types of nodules there must be some differences with respect to the inner structure as well as the metabolism in them. Experiments were made to compare the morphological change of rhizobia, the amount and distribution of starch, the kinds of free amino acids in effective nodule with those in ineffective one. To obtain materials, soybean, pea, red clover, and genge (Astragalus sinicus L.) Were used with their own effective and ineffective strains of rhizobia, respectively.