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Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis in a Sustainable Agriculture

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Plant, Soil and Microbes

Abstract

In most agricultural systems, the primary source of biologically fixed N2 takes place through the symbiotic interactions of legumes and rhizobia bacteria. As a collective name, rhizobia cover several genera in the alpha- and beta-Proteobacteria. As a rule, all species of rhizobia form nodules with a range of hosts, determined by their nodulation genes. Nodulation and N2 fixation in these symbioses need that host and microorganisms are compatible, and also that the soil environment is appropriate for the exchange of signals that precede infection. Thus, soil abiotic factors, such as pH, temperature, salinity, and heavy metals, are also critical in the ecology of rhizobia. Besides nitrogen fixation, rhizobia may also benefit plants by other processes, being naturally associated with nonlegume plants and affecting positively their growth through one or several mechanisms independent of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. In this chapter, the focal point is related with some aspects of the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis taking into account that the improvement in molecular biology methods contributed significantly to a major advance in the knowledge of rhizobial diversity. We highlight the importance of certain abiotic stress conditions and the emerging knowledge of the potential of rhizobia as plant growth-promoting bacteria. Special emphasis is given to legumes in natural and sown pasture, namely a particular case on the Mediterranean area exemplifying a long-term sustainable agrosilvopastoral ecosystem.

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  1. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, I.P.–INIAV, I.P., Quinta do Marquês, 2780-159, Oeiras, Portugal

    Isabel Videira e Castro, Paula Fareleira & Eugénio Ferreira

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  1. Isabel Videira e Castro
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  2. Paula Fareleira
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  3. Eugénio Ferreira
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Correspondence to Isabel Videira e Castro .

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  1. Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia

    Khalid Rehman Hakeem

  2. Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Mohd Sayeed Akhtar

  3. Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Siti Nor Akmar Abdullah

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e Castro, I.V., Fareleira, P., Ferreira, E. (2016). Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis in a Sustainable Agriculture. In: Hakeem, K., Akhtar, M., Abdullah, S. (eds) Plant, Soil and Microbes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27455-3_4

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