Jane Badenoch-Jones

Phytohormones,Rhizobium mutants, and nodulation in legumes. IV. Auxin metabolites in pea root nodules

High specific activity [3H]indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was applied directly to root nodules of intact pea plants. After 24 h, radioactivity was detected in all plant tissues. In nodule and root tissue, only 2–3% of3H remained as IAA, and analysis by thin layer chromatography suggested that indole-3-acetyl-L-aspartic acid (IAAsp) was a major metabolite. The occurrence of IAAsp in pea root and nodule tissue was confirmed unequivocally by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The following endogenous indole compounds were also unequivocally identified in pea root nodules by GC-MS: IAA, indole-3-pyruvic acid, indole-3-lactic acid, indole-3-propionic acid, indole-3-butyric acid, and indole-3-carboxylic acid. Evidence of the occurrence of indole-3-methanol was also obtained. With the exception of IAA and indole-3-propionic acid, these compounds have not previously been unequivocally identified in a higher plant tissue.

Phytohormones,Rhizobium mutants, and nodulation in legumes. VII. Identification and quantification of cytokinins in effective and ineffective pea root nodules using radioimmunoassay

Radioimmunoassays (RIA), employing antisera raised in rabbits against bovine serum albumin conjugates of zeatin riboside, dihydrozeatin riboside, and isopentenyladenosine, were used to estimate levels of these cytokinins and their corresponding bases in samples of effective (nitrogen-fixing, Fix+), ineffective (nonnitrogen-fixing, Fix−) pea root nodules and uninoculated roots. Assays were done on extracts of nodule tissue, 1–2 g fresh weight, or approximately 10 g fresh weight of root tissue, and high specific activity [3H]zeatin riboside was added during preparation of the extract for use as a recovery marker. Two different purification procedures were employed, each involving several purification steps. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was the final step in both procedures. Fractions from HPLC were analyzed by RIA using the appropriate antiserum. The cytokinins, zeatin, zeatin riboside, dihydrozeatin riboside, isopentenyl adenine, and isopentenyladenosine were detected and quantified in nodule tissue, and similarly, in root tissue (with the exception of zeatin, which we were unable to quantify in root tissue). Cytokinin levels in nodule tissue were higher than those in root tissue. The major cytokinins detected in nodule tissue were zeatin, followed by zeatin riboside and then dihydrozeatin riboside. The levels of zeatin and zeatin riboside estimated in nodules in the present study by RIA were of the same order of magnitude, though tending to be a little higher, than values obtained previously by bioassay. Dihydrozeatin riboside was identified with confidence for the first time in nodule tissue. There was a general decline with age in cytokinin levels in nodules, but no major qualitative change in nodule cytokinins with age. For theRhizobium strains examined, the data did not indicate a clear correlation between nodule cytokinin levels and the effectiveness of nodules in nitrogen fixation.

Use of isopentenyladenosine and dihydrozeatin riboside antibodies for the quantification of cytokinins

Antisera have been raised in rabbits against dihydrozeatin riboside and isopentenyladenosine, and their cross-reactivity characteristics have been examined in detail. These antisera, together with an antiserum previously raised against zeatin riboside, have been employed in radioimmunoassays. Separative procedures that enable a wide range of naturally occurring cytokinins to be separated prior to analysis by radioimmunoassay have been developed. The accuracy with which the following cytokinins can be quantified by our methods, which employ tritiated cytokinin recovery markers, has been estimated: zeatin riboside, zeatin, dihydrozeatin riboside, dihydrozeatin, O-glucosyl zeatin riboside, O-glucosyl zeatin, O-glucosyl dihydrozeatin riboside, O-glucosyl dihydrozeatin, zeatin-9-glucoside, zeatin-7-glucoside, lupinic acid, isopentenyladenosine, and isopentenyladenine.

Cytokinins of dryZea mays seed: Quantification by radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The endogenous cytokinins present in dryZea mays seed were determined using both radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography—mass spectrometry. Similar values for bases and ribosides were obtained by the two methods. The cytokinins present in embryo and endosperm were estimated separately using radioimmunoassay; similar levels of cytokinins were found in these two tissues. The major cytokinins detected on a whole-seed basis were dihydrozeatin riboside, O-glucosyldihydrozeatin riboside, zeatin 9-glucoside, zeatin, and the nucleotides of zeatin, dihydrozeatin, and isopentenyladenine. Cytokinin levels in the mature dry seed were considerably lower than cytokinin levels published in the literature for immature seed. Unexpected activity in the radioimmunoassays was detected in the wash from the DEAE cellulose column chromatography step. The compound(s) responsible for this activity did not have the solvent partitioning characteristics of a cytokinin base or riboside. They eluted as a single fraction following high-performance liquid chromatography on a Zorbax C8 column; this fraction showed no activity in theAmaranthus bioassay for cytokinins, but inhibited the activity of authentic zeatin riboside present at an optimal concentration.

Radioimmunoassay for quantifying the cytokininscis-zeatin andcis-zeatin riboside and its application to xylem sap samples

An antiserum against the cytokinincis-zeatin riboside was raised in rabbits and characterized for use in radioimmunoassays. Cross-reactivity studies demonstrated the specificity of the selected antiserum forcis-zeatin riboside andcis-zeatin in preference to a range of cytokinins and other purines. HPLC systems were developed that separatedcis-zeatin andcis-zeatin riboside from zeatin/dihydrozeatin and zeatin riboside/dihydrozeatin riboside, respectively. These systems enabled the separation of these compounds in xylem sap samples of wheat and oats and their quantification using radioimmunoassay. A TLC system for the separation ofcis-zeatin andcis-zeatin riboside from zeatin/dihydrozeatin and zeatin riboside/dihydrozeatin riboside, respectively, is also described.

Structural and functional analysis of nitrogenase genes from the broad-host-range Rhizobium strain ANU240

The genes encoding the structural components of nitrogenase, nifH, nifD and nifK, from the fast-growing, broad-host-range Rhizobium strain ANU240 have been identified and characterized. They are duplicated and linked in an operon nifHDK in both copies. Sequence analysis of the nifH gene from each copy, together with partial sequence analysis of the nifD and nifK genes, and restriction endonuclease analysis suggested that the duplication is precise. Comparison of the Fe-protein sequence from strain ANU240 with that from other nitrogen-fixing organisms revealed that, despite its broad host range and certain physiological properties characteristic of Bradyrhizobium strains, ANU240 is more closely related to the narrow-host-range Rhizobium strains than to the broad-host-range Bradyrhizobium strains. The promoter regions of both copies of the nif genes contain the consensus sequence characteristic of nif promoters, and functional analysis of the two promoters suggested that both nif operons are transcribed in nodules.

Molecular Cloning and Organisation of Genes Involved in Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Different Rhizobium Species

The symbiotic association between plants and bacteria of the genus Rhizobium is the result of a complex interaction between the bacterium and its host, requiring the expression of both bacterial and plant genes in a tightly coordinated manner. Bacteria bind to the emerging plant root hairs and invade the root tissue through the formation of an infection thread. The plant responds to this infection by the development of a highly differentiated root nodule. These nodules are the site of synthesis of the bacterial enzyme complex nitrogenase, which reduces atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. The fixed nitrogen is then exported into the plant tissue and assimilated by plant-derived enzymes.

Phytohormones, Rhizobium Mutants, and Nodulation in Legumes. VI. Metabolism of Zeatin Riboside Applied Via the Tips of Nodulated Pea Roots

Abstract[3H]zeatin riboside was supplied in physiological quantities to pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Greenfeast) plants by replacing the root tip with a small vial containing [3H]zeatin riboside, to simulate the normal supply of cytokinin. Radioactivity was transported to the root nodules. Analysis by two-dimensional thin layer chromatography revealed that little3H remained as zeatin riboside in root or nodule tissue at the end of the labeling period (2, 5, or 8 d) and suggested that the following compounds were metabolites of [3H]zeatin riboside: zeatin, adenosine, adenine, the O-glucosides of zeatin and zeatin riboside, nucleotides of adenine and zeatin, and the dihydro-derivatives of many of these compounds.The O-glucosides (and in particular, O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-9-β-D-ribofuranosylzeatin) appeared to be more prominent metabolites in the effective nodules formed by strain ANU897 than in the ineffective nodules produced by strain ANU203. However, no other appreciable differences were detected between effective and ineffective nodules in their metabolism of zeatin riboside. There were few marked differences between root and nodule tissue; however, in some experiments, the nodules contained a higher proportion of O-glucoside metabolites, and generally root tissue contained a greater proportion of zeatin and/or dihydro-zeatin, zeatin riboside and/or dihydrozeatin riboside, adenine and the nucleotides of zeatin and adenine, as metabolites.

Nitrogenase Genes in the Fast-Growing Broad-Host Range Rhizobium Strain ANU240

The Rhizobium strain ANU240 (a derivative of strain NGR234 (Trinick, 1980) is a fast-growing strain capable of nitrogen fixation on a wide range of tropical legumes normally nodulated by slow-growing strains. It also nodulates the non-legume, Parasponia, but the symbiosis is ineffective (Trinick and Galbraith, 1980).