Premium
Legumes versus rhizobia: a model for ongoing conflict in symbiosis
Author(s) -
Sachs Joel L.,
Quides Kenjiro W.,
Wendlandt Camille E.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.15222
Subject(s) - rhizobia , biology , symbiosis , nitrogen fixation , root nodule , trait , legume , host (biology) , botany , ecology , genetics , bacteria , computer science , programming language
ContentsSummary 1199 I. Introduction 1199 II. Selecting beneficial symbionts: one problem, many solutions 1200 III. Control and conflict over legume nodulation 1201 IV. Control and conflict over nodule growth and senescence 1204 V. Conclusion 1204Acknowledgements 1205References 1205Summary The legume–rhizobia association is a powerful model of the limits of host control over microbes. Legumes regulate the formation of root nodules that house nitrogen‐fixing rhizobia and adjust investment into nodule development and growth. However, the range of fitness outcomes in these traits reveals intense conflicts of interest between the partners. New work that we review and synthesize here shows that legumes have evolved varied mechanisms of control over symbionts, but that host control is often subverted by rhizobia. An outcome of this conflict is that both legumes and rhizobia have evolved numerous traits that can improve their own short‐term fitness in this interaction, but little evidence exists for any net improvement in the joint trait of nitrogen fixation.