<p><i>Pediomelum esculentum</i> (commonly prairie turnip) is a perennial legume of the Great Plains, consisting of a deep taproot and large edible tuber, and has served as a nutritious staple in Native American diets. The tuber is capable of storing up to 20 percent protein by weight. <i> P. esculentum</i> is a legume, but not a prominent nodule former; instead, it grows in nitrogen-limited soils and produces large amounts of protein. This suggests the involvement of biological nitrogen fixation. We have investigated the presence of diazotrophic endophytes in <i>P. esculentum</i>. Bacteria were isolated from wild plants on nitrogen free media, identified with their partial 16S rRNA gene sequences, and screened for the presence of the nitrogen fixation gene <i>nifH</i>. Select isolates were applied as a co-inoculum to seedlings grown under gnotobiotic conditions in a growth chamber with no nitrogen source. Seedlings in both the inoculated and uninoculated group developed nodules and showed no signs of nitrogen stress. Bacteria isolated from the nodules and tubers of both groups were closely related to the same <i>Bacillus</i> bacterium isolated from seeds germinated under sterile conditions, according to partial <i>16S rRNA </i> sequences. Bright field and fluorescence imaging revealed bacteria present in the intercellular space of four-week-old tubers and in the sterile germinated seeds. Sectioning and imaging of the nodules show a central nodule vasculature and infected cells extending inwards to the main root vasculature. Nitrogen fixation in the plants was indirectly confirmed by acetylene reduction. Our results suggest <i>P. esculentum</i> has formed a unique symbiosis with a nitrogen fixing <i>Bacillus</i> bacterium that transmits vertically in the seeds and induces nodules. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10164128 |
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Creators | Deutscher, Tyrel Ryan |
| Publisher | South Dakota State University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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