Structural bases for effectivity of bacteroidal tissue in pea root nodules formed by effective or ineffective bacteria strain

Abstract

The performed comparison included changes in volume and surface area of the chosen cellular structures during the development of the effective and ineffective bacteroidal tissue of pea root nodules. It has been noted that the increase of the volume of the infected cell in effective nodules is associated with the increase of the volume of vacuome, symbiosomes and cystol while in ineffective bacteroidal tissue with the increase of the starch volume and to a lesser degree symbiosomes and cytosol volumes. In turn, the volume increase of uninfected cells in effective bacteroidal tissue is associated with the volume increase of vacuome and cystol and in case of ineffective nodules with the increase of the volumes of cystol, starch, and to a lesser degree, vacuome. This data point to the disturbances in the vacuolation process of infected and uninfected cells in ineffective bacteroidal tissue. In effective symbiosis the volume of vacuome and peribacteroidal spaces in the infected cells change in the dependent way that stresses common features of these two compartments. It has also been observed that the surface area and/or volume of such infected cell compartments as plastids, mitochondria, symbiosomes and cystol change in a more co-ordinated way during the development of the effective than ineffective bacteroidal tissue. All these facts create a basis for discussion about the role of particular compartments in the functioning of bacteroidal tissue.