Characterization of Bacteroid Proteins in Soybean Nodules Formed with Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110

Abstract

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to identify differentially displayed proteins of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 in the symbiotic and non-symbiotic state. When proteome maps were compared and the characterization of bacteroid-specific proteins was performed by N-terminal amino acid sequencing and matrix-assisted desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry peptide mass fingerprint analysis, putative identity was assigned to 61 bacteroid protein spots, including many metabolic proteins and ABC transporters as well as nitrogenase proteins like NifH. This study shows that proteome analysis will be a useful tool for surveying genes contributing to rhizobial functions in symbiosis. © 2004, Japanese Society of Microbial Ecology & The Japanese Society of Soil Microbiology. All rights reserved.