Experimental and modelling approach to the legume-Rhizobium interaction: test of plant-host sanctions in co-inoculated plants with fixing and non-fixing strains

Abstract

We tested the plant host sanction hypothesis using soybean plants co-inoculated with two rhizobial strains, a normally N2 fixing strain and a mutant derivative that lacks nitrogenase activity but has the same nodulation abilities. We found no evidence of functioning plant host sanctions to cheater rhizobia based on nodular rhizobia viability in co-inoculated plants.