ENHANCED PRODUCTION OF ETHYLENE BY SOYBEAN ROOTS AFTER INOCULATION WITH BRADYRHIZOBIUM JAPONICUM

摘要

The production of ethylene by soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) roots during nodulation was investigated. The production of ethylene by roots was stimulated by inoculation with Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The stimulation of the production of ethylene by the roots of inoculated plants was maximal 3 days after inoculation and then the rate of production of ethylene fell to that in the roots of uninoculated plants. No enhanced production of ethylene after inoculation was detected with the roots of a non-nodulating soybean mutant or after inoculation with a heterologous rhizobium, Rhizobium leguminosarum by. viciae. Treatment of roots of wild-type soybean with an inhibitor of ethylene biosynthesis, aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), prevented the enhanced production of ethylene. However, the number of nodules formed on the roots was barely affected by the treatment with AVG. The results indicate that the production of ethylene by soybean roots is transiently enhanced by infection with the homologous rhizobium.