Metabolic Intricacies of the Symbiotic Association between Soybean and Bradyrhizobium japonicum:A Proteomic Outlook

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation, the primary pathway by which inorganic nitrogen is made available for living organisms, requires complex communication between the bacterial microsymbiont and the host plant, beginning in the soil and ending at nodule senescence. The symbiosis takes the form of a highly complex structure referred to as a nodule, which appears as a tumor-like growth on the roots of certain leguminous plants. Both partners exchange signals and change metabolically and morphologically in response to their fellow symbiont. These changes by necessity must be coordinated and complementary. Proteomic analysis has revealed extensive changes in the proteomes of each organism during symbiosis.