Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 18, 2026

Transforming, Genome Editing and Phenotyping the Nitrogen-fixing Tropical Cannabaceae Tree Parasponia andersonii
Published on: August 18, 2019
Getting to the Route: The Evolution of Nitrogen-Fixing Nodules
Anindya Kundu1, Thiago Alexandre Moraes2, R Jordan Price1
1National Institute of Agricultural Botany Trust (NIAB), Cambridge, United Kingdom;
None:
Root nodule symbiosis allows for plant acquisition of reactive nitrogen through fixation of atmospheric molecular dinitrogen by nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Nodulation is a complex trait, with diverse modes of bacterial infection and nodule morphologies across species, reflecting evolutionary adaptation. Understanding ancient forms of this trait may carry advantages for its current utilization, since basal states likely reflect the least complexity. In this review we focus on the evolution of nodule development, particularly on events that have led to increased complexity of this symbiosis in later adaptations. We hypothesize that the ancestral form of nodulation comprises an evolutionary coupling of nutrient-dependent lateral root development with apoplastic intercellular bacterial growth, alongside the acquisition or evolution of an ancestral chitinaceous signaling molecule by the microbial symbiont. Uncovering the evolutionary adaptations underpinning the extant diversity of this trait allows for a better understanding of the simplest ancestral state.
More Related Videos
10:58Plant Promoter Analysis: Identification and Characterization of Root Nodule Specific Promoter in the Common Bean
Published on: December 23, 2017
20:01Single-plant, Sterile Microcosms for Nodulation and Growth of the Legume Plant Medicago truncatula with the Rhizobial Symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti
Published on: October 1, 2013
Related Concept Videos
Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this...
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition
Carbon-dioxide Fixation
Sulfur Assimilation