Initial stages in the morphogenesis of nitrogen-fixing stem nodules of Sesbania rostrata

Morphogenesis of stem nodules in Sesbania rostrata was studied over a period of 6 days after inoculation with an appropriate species of Rhizobium. Nodulation sites were initially slightly raised, circular areas 0.3 to 0.6 mm in diameter and 4 to 5 mm apart in vertical rows along the length of the stem. Each site was underlaid by an adventitious root primordium. A site became susceptible to infection by a specific Rhizobium sp. when the root primordium broke through the epidermis, leaving a fissure. Rhizobia multiplied within this fissure and colonized the exposed intercellular spaces. The infection extended inward as narrow, branched intercellular threads moved into a cortical meristematic zone, where cell division was initiated, and invagination of infection thread branches into adjacent plant cells followed. Rhizobia were released into the plant cells and surrounded immediately by plant membrane. Intracellular rhizobia divided actively, leading to bacteroid-filled cells. Infected areas enlarged and coalesced as the nodule matured.