Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
2289458 
Journal Article 
Review 
A Paradigm for Endosymbiotic Life: Cell Differentiation of Rhizobium Bacteria Provoked by Host Plant Factors 
Kondorosi, Eva; Mergaert, P; Kereszt, A 
2013 
Yes 
Annual Review of Microbiology
ISSN: 0066-4227
EISSN: 1545-3251 
Annual Review of Microbiology 
67 
611-628 
English 
24024639 
WOS:000326686400030 
Symbiosis between Rhizobium bacteria and legumes leads to the formation of the root nodule. The endosymbiotic bacteria reside in polyploid host cells as membrane-surrounded vesicles where they reduce atmospheric nitrogen to support plant growth by supplying ammonia in exchange for carbon sources and energy. The morphology and physiology of endosymbionts, despite their common function, are highly divergent in different hosts. In galegoid plants, the endosymbionts are terminally differentiated, uncultivable polyploid cells, with remarkably elongated and even branched Y-shaped cells. Bacteroid differentiation is controlled by host peptides, many of which have antibacterial activity and require the bacterial function of BacA. Although the precise and combined action of several hundred host peptides and BacA has yet to be discovered, similarities, especially to certain insect-bacterium symbioses involving likewise host peptides for manipulation of endosymbionts, suggest convergent evolution. Rhizobium-legume symbiosis provides a rich source of information for understanding host-controlled endosymbiotic life in eukaryotic cells. 
symbiosis; bacteroids; endosymbionts; antimicrobial peptides; bacteriome; bacteriocyte