Most species of legumes nodulate. Some of them have determinate nodules while few have indeterminate type. My question is if there is any advantage of being determinate type or indeterminate type nodule. What governs that this legume should have determinate or indeterminate type of nodule. Is it bacterial strain of Rhizobia or the plant.
Answering to your last question, nodulation depends on interaction, so both, plant and microbial partners are involved and influence the type of nodules. There are some papers that suggest that nodulation has evolved from the more ancient interaction with microrhiza, then indeterminate nodules seems to be older than determinate ones, although determinate nodules have appeared more than once in evolution. There is not a clear answer to whether one type is better than other, they are only two different specializations, for sure giving each one advantages to the actual legume that carry each of them.
Thanks Josefa I got your points. As the symbiosis is a compatible interaction and various strains of Rhizobia can infect diverse plants but the nature of nodulation (determinate vs indeterminate) varies with plant thus i am of a view that its something in that particular plant (Medicago, Cicer, Pisum) that determine the indeterminate nature of nodulation. I am very much fascinated with the biology of nodule development and how precisely plant controls its growth by NCR peptides that seem to be unique to Medicago and Cicer (among the indeterminate type plant genome sequenced).
Can i have name of species of non-IRLC clade that have indeterminate nodules like Leucaena glauca. I believe the precise expression and delivery of NCRs into a symbiosome is very-very interesting and exocyst complex may be involved in it. Also i want to know the species having NCRs and have determinate nodule growth.
http://www.pnas.org/content/114/19/5041.abstract
A very good article "Morphotype of bacteroids in different legumes correlates with the number and type of symbiotic NCR peptides"
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