Variation in Nitrate Tolerance of Nitrogen Fixation in the Pea/Rhizobium Symbiosis

The short-term effects of nitrate on symbiotic nitrogen fixation were studied in six cultivars of pea (Pisum sativum L.) using two strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum. Plants grown symbiotically for three weeks, in order to eliminate the effect of NO₃ on nodule formation, were exposed to nil, 5 or 15 mM NO₃ for a period of seven days. Nodule mass, nitrogenase activity by acetylene reduction and the NO₂ and NO₃ concentrations in nodules were determined. Exposure to nitrate reduced the total acetylene reduction activity (ARA) in all cultivars, and a significant cultivar × nitrate treatment interaction was found. Nitrate influenced the components of N₂ fixation, nodule mass and specific ARA (ARA/mg nodule), differently within and among cultivars. Nodule mass was reduced in all cultivars, but a variation among cultivars in the degree of reduction was found. Nitrate also reduced the specific ARA to different extents in the cultivars- The specific ARA of nodules from NO₃-treated plants, expressed as per cent of the specific ARA of nodules from plants grown without NOT₃ was negatively correlated with the concentration of NO₃ in nodules. No relationship was found between the reduction of N₂ fixation and the nitrite concentration in nodules. The results indicate that it is possible to improve the nitrate tolerance of symbiotic N₂ fixation of the established pea/Rhizobium symbiosis by selection of suitable host plants.