Variation in Nitrate Tolerance of Nitrogen Fixation in the Pea/Rhizobium Symbiosis

Abstract

AbstractThe short‐term effects of nitrate on symbiotic nitrogen fixation were studied in six cultivars of pea (Pisum sativum L.) using two strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum. Plants grown symbiotically for three weeks, in order to eliminate the effect of NO3 on nodule formation, were exposed to nil, 5 or 15 mM NO3 for a period of seven days. Nodule mass, nitrogenase activity by acetylene reduction and the NO2 and NO3 concentrations in nodules were determined.Exposure to nitrate reduced the total acetylene reduction activity (ARA) in all cultivars, and a significant cultivar × nitrate treatment interaction was found. Nitrate influenced the components of N2 fixation, nodule mass and specific ARA (ARA/mg nodule), differently within and among cultivars. Nodule mass was reduced in all cultivars, but a variation among cultivars in the degree of reduction was found. Nitrate also reduced the specific ARA to different extents in the cultivars‐ The specific ARA of nodules from NO3‐treated plants, expressed as per cent of the specific ARA of nodules from plants grown without NOT3 was negatively correlated with the concentration of NO3 in nodules. No relationship was found between the reduction of N2 fixation and the nitrite concentration in nodules.The results indicate that it is possible to improve the nitrate tolerance of symbiotic N2 fixation of the established pea/Rhizobium symbiosis by selection of suitable host plants.