The biogenesis of leghemoglobin

By disc electrophoresis of leghemoglobins produced in the nodules of various legumes inoculated with specific strains of the bacterial genus Rhizobium, we have shown that: 1. 1. A single plant type treated with rhizobial strains of diverse origins always produces leghemoglobins having the same electrophoretic mobilities. 2. 2. Pairs of plant types produce effective nodules when inoculated with single rhizobial strains. The leghemoglobins are always plant-type specific. 3. 3. Representative species of the pea cross-inoculation group, effectively nod ulated with a single rhizobial strain, each produced a different electrophoretic pattern of leghemoglobin. These results are interpreted as evidence that the type of leghemoglobin produced in a given rhizobium-legume symbiosis, is plant specific. It is speculated that this effect is dependent on the genetic information, defining the amino acid sequence for apoleghemoglobins, being resident in the plant genome.