Bacterial “Missing Link” May Help More Plants Fix Nitrogen
ITHACA, N.Y. What may
be a missing link in the evolution
of microorganisms, a bacterium
that is both photosynthetic and
nitrogen-fixing, has been discov
ered at the Boyce Thompson Insti
tute for Plant Research (BTI).
Bacteria that “fix,” or convert,
nitrogen, in symbiosis with
legumes are widely known, as are
those that derive energy from the
sun through photosynthesis. But
the newly discovered organism is
the firstknown to combine the two
capabilities.
Studying this bacterium could
help genetic engineers to develop
ways to incorporate nitrogen
C.B. HOOBER & SON, INC. I HOOBER EQUIPMENT, INC.
Intercourse, PA ISMHHHHHNHHMHMHHHHHII Middletown, DE
(717) 768-8231 ■ ■ TWO LOCATIONS (302) 378-9555
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US
IN THE PARTS DEPARTMENT
PARTS MANAGER - RICHARD BOMBERGER
ASS’T. PARTS MANAGER - ROY WEAVER
ASST. PARTS MANAGER - JOHN STONER
ASST. PARTS MANAGER - AL YODER
ROAD SALESMAN - KENNETH BEILER
ROAD SALESMAN - CARL HERSHEY
PARTSMAN - RAY SHISSLER
PARTSMAN - DICK SKETHWAY
PARTSMAN - BRIAN HORST
PARTSMAN - LEON NOLT
PARTS SECRETARY - NANCY EBY
STOCKMEN - JOHN YODER, LLOYD GROFF,
HENRY ESHLEMAN
Thank You For Your Patronage In 1988. We Look Forward
To Serving Your Parts Needs In 1989.
YOU STAY PUT
Pick Up Your
f* Phone And
/\\Place Your
v n m Parts
& Order
- n rj | With
ATTENTION
TOBACCO GROWERS
Golden Leaf Tobacco Company
Will Be In Our New Location
MARTIN'S SALE BARN
2 Milas east of Intsrcourss at the Junction of New Holland Rd. & Rt. 340, (the original
Pennsylvania Tobacco Auction Barn) starting Monday, November 28, 1988
We invite each of you to contact us from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at
our new telephone number
for new developments & prices for your 609 tobacco crop.
We feel our reputation, to be one of the most honest & reliable deal
ers in Lancaster Co., guarantees you rewarding sales for your 1988
609 tobacco crop. We ask only that you call our company before you
sell.
For those of you who desire to sell your tobacco at auction, we
promise our full support in the auction system as we have since its
opening in 1985. We also support private sales if you, the farmer, so
desire.
We advise you to grade your tobacco by color and not too damp for
top prices.
The outlook is good, please consider us as your buyer this year.
Mac Bailey
Golden Leaf Tobacco Company
fixation capabilities into crop
plants that now lack them.
Expanding plants’ capability to fix
nitrogen from the air would
enormously decrease the need for
chemical fertilizers.
The BTI scientists propose a
new genus and species name for
the organism, and are preparing a
publicatoin describing recent
work that demonstrates that the
bacterium has photosynthetic
capability. They are Joan M. Ellis,
Mariangela Hungria, Bertrand D.
Eardly, Nancy W. Rizzo and
Allan R.J. Eaglesham. BTI is an
independent research laboratory
based at Cornell University.
The Saving Place
WE SHIP PARTS DAILY Via UPS-PPSH-BUS-AIR FREIGHT, ETC.
fIOUES p B■ S ■
Mon.-Fri. 7 AM-5 PM; Sat. 7 AM-Noon MMT" H 818
CALL US... Authorized
It CM Bi We Hm It ups station
717-768-3074
PO Box 218, Intercourse, PA 17534
They have tentatively named
the bacterium Photorhizobium
thompsonum combining the
previx “photo-” with the name rhi
zobium given to nitrogen-fixing
bacteria. The bacterium was dis
covered serendipitously in sand
used as growth medium in a BTI
greenhouse. .
“This is a completely new
organism with characteristics of
rhizobia as well as those of photo
synthetic., bacteria,” said
Eaglesham, the BTI plant phys
iologist who was studying
nitrogen-fixing nodules on plant
stems when the surprising bacter
ium turned up. “It may represent a
By Service
We Grow
primitive evolutionary form that
could give hints of how nitrogen
fixing bacteria evolved and how
the nitrogen-fixing noduladon in
plants began.”
The ability of certain plants to
fix nitrogen has been a subject of
intense study by agricultural sci
entists. In this process, legumin
ous plants such as soybeans and
others in the pea family attract
nitrogen-fixing microorganisms
that are held in root nodules,
allowing them to thrive in soil
with little available nitrogen.
The rarer growth of nitrogen
fixing-nodules on plant stems has
been studied at BTI for about 10
years. Stem nodules do not nor
mally appear on agriculturally
important crops, but do occur on
some plants living in flooded con
ditions, particularly weedy plants
of the genera Aeschynomene and
Sesbania. Stem nodulation is
believed to aid plants when water
cuts off most of the oxygen and
nitrogen needed by root nodules.
Eaglesham and his BTI col
leagues discovered the new bac
terium while attempting to save
Aeschynomene indica plants with
out nodules that were suffering
from nitrogen-deficiency. Rather
than destroy the dying plants, they
transplanted them into sand from
another greenhouse and flooded
the roots with water. Within two
weeks, nitrogen-fixing nodules
appeared on the stems.
A subsequent series of tests
showed that the nodules were
caused not by a previously identi
fied nitrogen-fixing bacterium in
the sand, but by a completely new
and different form that fixes nitro
gen and conducts photosynthesis.
The plant physiologists traced the
sand to Virginia.
Then they learned that another
Aeschynomene species, A. virgini
ca, is native to fresh and brackish
tidal waters from New Jersey to
souther Virginoa. “Bacteria that
produce nodules in A. virginica
may have been present in small
Water Quality Meeting Scheduled
EPHRATA (Lancaster) The
Octorara Young Farmers Associa
tion will be holding its next meet
ing at 7:30 p.m. on January 2,1989
at the Octorara High School ag
education room. The night’s dis
cussion will center on determing
water quality.
Attendees are invited to bring
water samples to the meeting for
testing. The water will be tested for
copper, iron, hardness, acidity, and
nitrates. Methods of correction and
Livestock Feed Benefit
Deadline
YORK York County lives
tock growers now have until
March 31,1989, to apply for bene
fits in the Emergency Feed Prog
ram (EFP) or Emergency Feed
Assistance Program (EFAP). The
original deadline was December
31, 1988. The EFP provides 50%
cost-sharing on purchased feed
while in EFAP eligible applicants
may purchase USDA owned grain
at reduced prices. Eligible applic
ants are those suffering at least a
40% loss of all feed production
amounts of soil, which mix with
sand during mining, and may be
‘promiscuous’ enough to form
nodules on other Aeschynome
species.” liaglesham said.
“It is an amazing coincidence,”
he continued. “The growth
medium we have been using all
along for plant studies of all kinds
happens to be ‘contaminated’ with
a microorganism that causes stem
nodulation.”
The plant physiologist said the
bacterium does not fit in any one
taxonomic classification. It dou
bles its numbers in less than six
hours like the so-called “fast” bac
teria of the genus Rhizobium, pro
duces enzymes characteristic of
the “slow” Bradyrhizodium genus,
and conducts photosynthesis.
“This is some intermediate
form,” Eaglesham said. “Most
known photobacteria are photo
synthetic only under anerobic con
ditions. They live in marine envi
ronments or water-logged soils
and turn on their photosynthetic
abilites when there is not oxygen.
This organism is photosynthetic in
aerobic environments.”
Photorhizobium thompsonum
may be an evolutionary link to the
first bacteria that tried to form
nodules on plants, Eaglesham
speculated. He noted that, eVen
now, early stages of nodulation
are more of a pathogenic interac
tion than a symbiotic relationship.
The first plant cells that are pene
trated by nitrogen-fixing bacteria
collapse and die as the plant tries
to contain the “infection.”
A nitrogen-fixing bacterium
that is particularly adept at pene
trating plant stems and can pro
duce some of its own food and
energy from light would seem to
have a competitive advantage
both during the evolutionary deve
lopment of plant nodulation and in
the future, as scientists attempt to
expand nitrogen-fixing capabili
ties to more plant species,
Eaglesham said.
benefits of making corrections will
be discussed. The sponsor of this
meeting will be the Martin Water
Co., with David Stoltzfus and
Richard Breckbill as the speakers
for the evening.
In the event of inclement weath
er, interested people should listen
to WCOJ radio station for possible
clsoing.
The association’s next meeting
will be on February 6 and will fea
ture a discussion on pesticides.
Extended
and havo insufficient feed on hand
until 1989 crops become
available.
Interested persons may contact
the York County ASCS Office at
120 Pleasant Acres Road. The
phone number is 755-2801.
“Eligibility for participation in
all programs administered by
ASCS is established under law
without regard to race, color, age,
sex, religion, national origin or
physical handicap.”