The N-metabolites of roots and actinorhizal nodules from Alnus glutinosa and Datisca glomerata: can D. glomerata change N-transport forms when nodulated?

Abstract

To gain more insight in nitrogen metabolism in actinorhizal nodules, a comparison between the N metabolite profiles in roots vs. nodules was initiated for one host plant from the best-examined order of actinorhizal plants, Fagales, A. glutinosa (Betulaceae), a temperate tree, and one host plant from the Cucurbitales order, Datisca glomerata (Datiscaceae). For both symbioses, the symbiotic transcriptomes have been published and can be used to assess the expression of genes representing specific metabolic pathways in nodules. The amino acid profiles of roots in this study suggest that A. glutinosa transported aspartate, glutamate and citrulline in the xylem, a combination of nitrogenous solutes not published previously for this species. The amino acid profiles of D. glomerata roots depended on whether the plants were nodulated or grown on nitrate; roots of nodulated plants contained increased amounts of arginine. Although bacterial transcriptome data showed no symbiotic auxotrophy for branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) in either symbiosis, D. glomerata nodules contained comparatively high levels of these amino acids. This might represent a response to osmotic stress.