Reorganization of the plant cytoskeleton is thought to play an important role during nodule ontogeny. In situ immunolocalisation of tubulin reveals that important cytoskeletal changes, implying a transient disorganization followed by a newly patterned reorganization, occur in indeterminate and determinate nodules. In alfalfa nodules, cytoskeletal changes closely parallel the symbiotic differentiation features related to cell infection, bacterial release, endopolyploidization, cell enlargement, cell spatial organization and organelle ultrastructure and positioning. Moreover, the fact that microtubule disorganization can be correlated with Nod factor internalization in central infected cells suggests that Nod factors are possibly involved in the control of cytoskeletal changes which direct the differentiation of bacteria-containing cells.

Keywords:
Microtubular cytoskeleton, Nod factors, Nodule differentiation, Rhizobium meliloti, Alfalfa
© 1998 by Company of Biologists
1998
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