Copper-induced modifications in early symbiotic signaling factors of Ensifer (Sinorhizobium)-Medicago interactions.

Cu is an essential micronutrient required during nitrogen fixation, but above threshold concentrations it becomes toxic. The present study was aimed at studying the effect of high Cu concentrations on the early plant-microbe interactions between Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) meliloti 1021, a symbiotic diazotrophic bacterium belonging to α-Proteobacteria, and its plant host Medicago truncatula. E. meliloti exhibited pleomorphism with elongated and branched growth at 100 µM Cu which brought about 50 % reduction in growth. Early symbiotic signaling factors like exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides levels and biofilm formation were adversely affected at sublethal levels of Cu. Cu stress resulted in over-expression of proteins such as GroEL (60 kDa chaperonin) and WrbA (NAD(P)H dehydrogenase). E. meliloti was unable to show efficient attachment on the roots of M. truncatula at 3 µM Cu, which corresponds to 50 % growth inhibitory levels for the plant, indicating that plant root surface modifications may also contribute to adverse effect of Cu on early plant-microbe interactions during nodulation.