Effective and ineffective root nodules in Myrica faya

Abstract

In cross-inoculation trials, inocula containing the nodule endophytes of Myrica gale, M. cerifera, M. cordifolia and M. pilulifera respectively were applied to the roots of young plants of M. faya Ait. growing in nitrogen-free culture solution. All four inocula induced nodule formation, and except where the M. gale inoculum had been used the nodules were of effective type and enabled the plants bearing them to grow nearly as well as other M. faya plants associated with the normal endophyte. The nodules induced by the M. gale endophyte were very numerous, but remained small and fixed no significant amount of nitrogen, and were thus ineffective. Light and electron microscopy showed that in the effective nodules induced by the normal endophyte or by that of M. cordifolia , the endophyte was confined to a layer 1-2 cells deep near the middle of the nodule cortex, and that in respect of the width of the hyphae and their production of club-shaped internally subdivided vesicles, the endophytes resembled closely those in the nodules of the few other species of Myrica that have been studied by modern methods of microscopy. In ineffective nodules the disposition of the infected cells was unchanged, but within the cells only a sparse development of the endophyte was observed, and no vesicles were found. The finding that nodules lacking vesicles showed little or no fixation is consistent with other evidence that the vesicles normally produced by non-legume nodule endophytes are the main site of nitrogen fixation.