Lc. Purcell et Tr. Sinclair, SOYBEAN (GLYCINE-MAX) NODULE PHYSICAL TRAITS ASSOCIATED WITH PERMEABILITY RESPONSES TO OXYGEN, Plant physiology, 103(1), 1993, pp. 149-156
Nodule permeability (P) controls the amount of 02 entering the nodule
and is an important determinant of N2 fixation. Modulation of water vo
lume in the intercellular spaces of the nodule cortex was hypothesized
to change the effective thickness of a diffusion barrier and account
for changes in P. This hypothesis was examined by evaluating physical
traits of nodules that may affect P. The first test of the hypothesis
was to determine whether alterations in P may result in changing both
the density and the air space content of nodules as the water content
of intercellular spaces was varied. Density of nodules exposed to 21 k
Pa 02 increased as the time following detachment from the plant increa
sed from 5 to 60 min. Nodules from soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) pl
ants shaded for 48 h had a lower fractional air space content than nod
ules from control plants. Nodule detachment and prolonged shading decr
eased P, and the increase in density and decrease in fractional air sp
ace content associated with decreased P in these treatments supports t
he proposed hypothesis. The second test of the hypothesis was to deter
mine whether nodules released water easily in response to water potent
ial gradients. The intrinsic capacitance of nodules determined by pres
sure-volume analysis was 0.29 MPa-1 and indicated that the tissue can
release relatively large amounts of water from the symplast with only
small changes in total nodule water potential. Estimates of the bulk m
odulus of elasticity ranged from 0.91 to 2.60 MPa and indicated a high
degree of elasticity. It was concluded that the physical properties o
f nodules were consistent with P modulation by the release and uptake
of intercellular water in the nodule cortex.