Sinorhizobium meliloti

From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Sinorhizobium meliloti

Classification

Higher order taxa

Bacteria; Proteobacteria; Alphaproteobacteria; Rhizobiales; Rhizobiazeae; Sinorhizobium


[Others may be used. Use NCBI link to find]

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Sinorhizobium meliloti;

Description and significance

Sinorhizobium meliloti is a gram-negative bacterium. As are other Rhizobia, S. meliloti can be found as a normal, free-living microorganisms in the soil. However, it is for their nitrogen-fixing symbiotic relationships with legumes that S. meliloti are studied. S. meliloti cells detect substances particularly made up of amino and organic acids, released by the roots of plants. The cells are drawn toward root hairs that emerge from the roots and induce the root hair tips to curl up. There is a cytoplasmic bridge formed by the microtubules and the cytoplasm of the root cells. This bridge guides infection threads extending from the roots to the cortex of the bacterial cells. Finally, the S. meliloti cells enter the cytoplasm of the root cells through endocytosis. S. meliloti transform atmospheric nitrogen into a form that may be utilized by the host in which they reside. Also, the S. meliloti is significant in that it leaves behind excess nitrogen in the soil which may potentially reduce the need for fertilizers. The S. meliloti genome was isolated and sequenced from nodules and soil primarily from host plants such as the Medicago (alfalfa and perennial and annual medics), Melilotus (sweet clover), and Trigonella (fenugreek) species. The detailed study of S. meliloti and other Rhizobia will further inform microbiologists about how these bacteria colonize root surfaces of their host and what mechanisms make-up the complex rhizobium-legume symbiotic relationship.

Genome structure

S. meliloti is a fast growing Rhizobium that has a moderately small genome size of 6.7 Million base pairs. The genome is still quite complex and is made up of three circular elements of DNA, also known as replicons. One is a single chromosome 3.65 Mb long, while the other two are megaplasmids 1.68 Mb and 1.35 Mb long a piece. Each replicon contributes to a certain degree to the bacteria's symbiosis with the plant. The largest replicon is responsible for all the housekeeping genes of S. meliloti cells, in particular the genes responsible for metabolic pathways. Also, it carries the genes involved in plant interaction, responding to external stress, mobility, and chemotaxis. The second replicon, named pSymB, carries genes involved in nutrient uptake and effective invasion of the plant host. The third and smallest replicon, named pSymA, is responsible for the the nitrogen-fixing capabilities of the bacterium. All three chromosomal components have been sequenced by researchers from around the world.

Cell structure and metabolism

S. meliloti is an aerobic bacterium that can be found either living independently in soil or on the roots of leguminous plants. A single superoxide dismutase, coded for by the sodA gene, catalyses the formation of hydrogen peroxide and oxygen from superoxides. S. meliloti cells will encounter two strikingly different environments during their life time, the soil and the nodules formed on the roots of plants. In the soil there is a large abundance of manganese that the cell can use and undergo aerobiosis. However, in the nodules there is a very low concentration of free oxygen and manganese where as iron is abundant in this highly acidic environment. In such conditions, it is favorable for the S. meliloti cells to utilize an iron-substituted superoxide dismutatse. It is most probably because the S. meliloti cells transition from the aerobic cycle in the soil to the microaerobic cycle in the nodule environment that they developed a cambialistic superoxide dismutase.


S. meliloti and root cells of legumes share a symbiotic relationship in which the bacterial cells fix atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form by the root cells. In return the plant cells produce carbon compounds that the S. meliloti use as their carbon source.

(ATP and carbon sources)




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Ecology

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Pathology

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Application to Biotechnology

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Current Research

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References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

Edited by student of Rachel Larsen