Legumes tolerance to rhizobia is not always observed and not always deserved

Abstract

Rhizobia display dual lifestyle. These bacteria are soil inhabitants but can also elicit the formation of a special niche on the root of legume plants, the nodules. In such organs, rhizobia can promote the growth of their host by providing them nitrogen they captured from atmosphere. All along the infection process, the plant innate immunity has to be controlled to maintain compatible interaction. However, nodulation does not always result in profit for the plant as compatible interactions include both nitrogen-fixing and non-fixing associations. In recent years, our knowledge on the mechanisms involved in the control of plant innate immunity during rhizobia-legume interactions has greatly improved notably by the identification of bacterial and plant genes activating or suppressing the plant defences. Surprisingly, results also demonstrated that in some cases, plant defence reactions result in abortion of the nodulation process despite that the rhizobial strain has all the genetic potential to establish mutualism. In such situation, experimental evolution approaches highlighted possible rapid switches of incompatible rhizobia either to mutualistic or parasitic behaviour. Here, we review this recent literature.