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Special Issue "Nitrogen-Fixing Plants "

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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 42536

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. David A. Dalton

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Guest Editor

Reed College, Department of Biology, Portland, OR 97202, USA
Interests: nitrogen fixation; antioxidants; reactive oxygen species; forest ecophysiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nitrogen fixation is a vital process for enhancing plant productivity in both agricultural and natural systems. As an alternative to nitrogen-based fertilizers, nitrogen fixation has the potential to support plant growth while reducing the harmful effects of nitrogen pollution and its accompanying problems of toxicity in ground water that result from nitrate accumulation and the creation of dead zones in downstream waters due to eutrophication. Nitrogen-based fertilizers have the further disadvantage of requiring huge amounts of fossil fuel for their synthesis in the Haber Bosch process. In many developing countries, the high cost of nitrogen fertilizers makes their use prohibitive. Major efforts have been carried out over the last century in order to understand the biochemistry and molecular biology of nitrogen fixation in plants. The stage is now set for applying this knowledge to improving the process and possibly extending the ability to new crop species such as cereals. This Special Issue will explore current developments concerning the limitations and potential promises of nitrogen fixation in plants as well as advances in the fundamentals of physiology, ecology, and molecular biology.

Prof. David A. Dalton
Guest Editor

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Keywords

nitrogen fixation
nitrogenase
nif genes
novel nitrogen-fixing systems
biotechnological and agronomical approaches
legumes
root nodules
Rhizobium

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3582 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Transfer from the Host Diatom Enables Fast Growth and High Rate of N₂ Fixation by Symbiotic Heterocystous Cyanobacteria

Keisuke Inomura

Christopher L. Follett

and

Plants 2020, 9(2), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9020192 - 04 Feb 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4167

Abstract

Diatom–diazotroph associations (DDAs) are symbioses where trichome-forming cyanobacteria support the host diatom with fixed nitrogen through dinitrogen (N₂) fixation. It is inferred that the growth of the trichomes is also supported by the host, but the support mechanism has not been fully quantified. Here, we develop a coarse-grained, cellular model of the symbiosis between Hemiaulus and Richelia (one of the major DDAs), which shows that carbon (C) transfer from the diatom enables a faster growth and N₂ fixation rate by the trichomes. The model predicts that the rate of N₂ fixation is 5.5 times that of the hypothetical case without nitrogen (N) transfer to the host diatom. The model estimates that 25% of fixed C from the host diatom is transferred to the symbiotic trichomes to support the high rate of N₂ fixation. In turn, 82% of N fixed by the trichomes ends up in the host. Modeled C fixation from the vegetative cells in the trichomes supports only one-third of their total C needs. Even if we ignore the C cost for N₂ fixation and for N transfer to the host, the total C cost of the trichomes is higher than the C supply by their own photosynthesis. Having more trichomes in a single host diatom decreases the demand for N₂ fixation per trichome and thus decreases their cost of C. However, even with five trichomes, which is about the highest observed for Hemiaulus and Richelia symbiosis, the model still predicts a significant C transfer from the diatom host. These results help quantitatively explain the observed high rates of growth and N₂ fixation in symbiotic trichomes relative to other aquatic diazotrophs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen-Fixing Plants )

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14 pages, 4610 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Exploration of Common Greenhouse Gas Emissions by the Cyanobiont of the Azolla–Nostoc Symbiosis and Clues as to Nod Factors in Cyanobacteria

Dilantha Gunawardana

Plants 2019, 8(12), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8120587 - 10 Dec 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3604

Abstract

Azolla is a genus of aquatic ferns that engages in a unique symbiosis with a cyanobiont that is resistant to cultivation. Azolla spp. are earmarked as a possible candidate to mitigate greenhouse gases, in particular, carbon dioxide. That opinion is underlined here in this paper to show the broader impact of Azolla spp. on greenhouse gas mitigation by revealing the enzyme catalogue in the Nostoc cyanobiont to be a poor contributor to climate change. First, regarding carbon assimilation, it was inferred that the carboxylation activity of the Rubisco enzyme of Azolla plants is able to quench carbon dioxide on par with other C₃ plants and fellow aquatic free-floating macrophytes, with the cyanobiont contributing on average ~18% of the carboxylation load. Additionally, the author demonstrates here, using bioinformatics and past literature, that the Nostoc cyanobiont of Azolla does not contain nitric oxide reductase, a key enzyme that emanates nitrous oxide. In fact, all Nostoc species, both symbiotic and nonsymbiotic, are deficient in nitric oxide reductases. Furthermore, the Azolla cyanobiont is negative for methanogenic enzymes that use coenzyme conjugates to emit methane. With the absence of nitrous oxide and methane release, and the potential ability to convert ambient nitrous oxide into nitrogen gas, it is safe to say that the Azolla cyanobiont has a myriad of features that are poor contributors to climate change, which on top of carbon dioxide quenching by the Calvin cycle in Azolla plants, makes it an efficient holistic candidate to be developed as a force for climate change mitigation, especially in irrigated urea-fed rice fields. The author also shows that Nostoc cyanobionts are theoretically capable of Nod factor synthesis, similar to Rhizobia and some Frankia species, which is a new horizon to explore in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen-Fixing Plants )

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Review

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24 pages, 2332 KiB

Open AccessReview

Molecular Basis of Root Nodule Symbiosis between Bradyrhizobium and ‘Crack-Entry’ Legume Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Subramaniam Gopalakrishnan

Maitrayee DasGupta

Rajeev K. Varshney

and

Manish K. Pandey

Plants 2020, 9(2), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9020276 - 20 Feb 2020

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 11791

Abstract

Nitrogen is one of the essential plant nutrients and a major factor limiting crop productivity. To meet the requirements of sustainable agriculture, there is a need to maximize biological nitrogen fixation in different crop species. Legumes are able to establish root nodule symbiosis (RNS) with nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria which are collectively called rhizobia. This mutualistic association is highly specific, and each rhizobia species/strain interacts with only a specific group of legumes, and vice versa. Nodulation involves multiple phases of interactions ranging from initial bacterial attachment and infection establishment to late nodule development, characterized by a complex molecular signalling between plants and rhizobia. Characteristically, legumes like groundnut display a bacterial invasion strategy popularly known as “crack-entry’’ mechanism, which is reported approximately in 25% of all legumes. This article accommodates critical discussions on the bacterial infection mode, dynamics of nodulation, components of symbiotic signalling pathway, and also the effects of abiotic stresses and phytohormone homeostasis related to the root nodule symbiosis of groundnut and Bradyrhizobium. These parameters can help to understand how groundnut RNS is programmed to recognize and establish symbiotic relationships with rhizobia, adjusting gene expression in response to various regulations. This review further attempts to emphasize the current understanding of advancements regarding RNS research in the groundnut and speculates on prospective improvement possibilities in addition to ways for expanding it to other crops towards achieving sustainable agriculture and overcoming environmental challenges. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen-Fixing Plants )

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21 pages, 1241 KiB

Open AccessReview

Molecular Analyses of the Distribution and Function of Diazotrophic Rhizobia and Methanotrophs in the Tissues and Rhizosphere of Non-Leguminous Plants

Tadakatsu Yoneyama

Junko Terakado-Tonooka

Zhihua Bao

and

Kiwamu Minamisawa

Plants 2019, 8(10), 408; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8100408 - 11 Oct 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 10224

Abstract

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by plants and its bacterial associations represent an important natural system for capturing atmospheric dinitrogen (N₂) and processing it into a reactive form of nitrogen through enzymatic reduction. The study of BNF in non-leguminous plants has been difficult compared to nodule-localized BNF in leguminous plants because of the diverse sites of N₂ fixation in non-leguminous plants. Identification of the involved N₂-fixing bacteria has also been difficult because the major nitrogen fixers were often lost during isolation attempts. The past 20 years of molecular analyses has led to the identification of N₂ fixation sites and active nitrogen fixers in tissues and the rhizosphere of non-leguminous plants. Here, we examined BNF hotspots in six reported non-leguminous plants. Novel rhizobia and methanotrophs were found to be abundantly present in the free-living state at sites where carbon and energy sources were predominantly available. In the carbon-rich apoplasts of plant tissues, rhizobia such as Bradyrhizobium spp. microaerobically fix N₂. In paddy rice fields, methane molecules generated under anoxia are oxidized by xylem aerenchyma-transported oxygen with the simultaneous fixation of N₂ by methane-oxidizing methanotrophs. We discuss the effective functions of the rhizobia and methanotrophs in non-legumes for the acquisition of fixed nitrogen in addition to research perspectives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen-Fixing Plants )

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18 pages, 676 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Regulation of Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Legume Root Nodules

and

Plants 2019, 8(9), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8090333 - 06 Sep 2019

Cited by 58 | Viewed by 12074

Abstract

In most legume nodules, the di-nitrogen (N₂)-fixing rhizobia are present as organelle-like structures inside their root host cells. Many processes operate and interact within the symbiotic relationship between plants and nodules, including nitrogen (N)/carbon (C) metabolisms, oxygen flow through nodules, oxidative stress, and phosphorous (P) levels. These processes, which influence the regulation of N₂ fixation and are finely tuned on a whole-plant basis, are extensively reviewed in this paper. The carbonic anhydrase (CA)-phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC)-malate dehydrogenase (MDH) is a key pathway inside nodules involved in this regulation, and malate seems to play a crucial role in many aspects of symbiotic N₂ fixation control. How legumes specifically sense N-status and how this stimulates all of the regulatory factors are key issues for understanding N₂ fixation regulation on a whole-plant basis. This must be thoroughly studied in the future since there is no unifying theory that explains all of the aspects involved in regulating N₂ fixation rates to date. Finally, high-throughput functional genomics and molecular tools (i.e., miRNAs) are currently very valuable for the identification of many regulatory elements that are good candidates for accurately dissecting the particular N₂ fixation control mechanisms associated with physiological responses to abiotic stresses. In combination with existing information, utilizing these abundant genetic molecular tools will enable us to identify the specific mechanisms underlying the regulation of N₂ fixation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen-Fixing Plants )

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