Amino acid export from infected cells of Vicia faba root nodules: Evidence for an apoplastic step in the infected zone

In root nodules of leguminous plants, such as Vicia faba L., N 2 is fixed by rhizobial bacteroids within infected cells. These cells are located in the centre of the nodule, whereas the vascular system serving import and export of solutes is located in the periphery. Within the infected central tissue, metabolites may travel symplastically by using bands of interconnected uninfected cells. Structural evidence, however, speaks against symplastic movement between infected cells themselves. The present work examined the possibility of an apoplastic step in amino acid export from infected cells. Incubation experiments with dissected central tissue demonstrated the release of amino compounds by infected cells. The predominant compound released was asparagine, which is also the major amino acid in xylem sap of legumes forming indeterminate nodules. During incubation of central infected tissue, medium acidification by plasma membrane H + ‐ATPase quickly turned into slight alkalization, probably caused by the released amino acids. In vivo, this process would lead to an increased apoplastic pH with consequences for processes relying on the proton gradient across the plasma membrane. Uptake of 14 C‐labelled amino acids by uninfected and infected cells was studied using protoplasts isolated from the central nodule tissue. Uninfected protoplasts accumulated amino acids with low specificity in a ΔpH‐dependent, bi‐phasic manner, whereas infected protoplasts did not absorb amino acids from the medium. This indicates that uninfected protoplasts not only function in metabolite transport, but also in collection of amino acids from the apoplast. Taken together, both experimental approaches demonstrate the possibility of an apoplastic export step for amino acids in the central tissue of indeterminate legume nodules.