Effect of Broad Bean Mottle Virus Infection on Faba Bean Nodulation and Efficiency of N2-Fixation

Abstract

Plant growth and root nodules of infected Faba bean plants with broad bean mottle virus were significantly reduced in plant height, leaf area, dry matter, number and size of nodules in comparison with healthy ones. As well Leghaemoglobin content and Nitrogenase activity were reduced in infected nodules at 45 days after BBMV inoculation. The amount of N 2-fixed as expressed by acetylene reduction was reduced considerably by 38.8%. Nitrogen content as an indicator for the efficiency of N 2-fixation was reduced in shoots, roots and root nodules of infected nodulated plants as compared with healthy nodulated ones. Differences between bacteroids in healthy and in BBMV infected cells were no longer apparent. These differences include: (i) a decrease in endocytotic and exocytotic vesiculation on the membrane envelope of the bacteriods and on plasma membrane of bacteroidal cells, (ii) a decrease in number of vesicles in the space between the bacteriod and the membrane envelope. The possible significance of these changes relative to the decreased efficiency of N 2-fixation was discussed.

Impact of Pea necrotic yellow dwarf virus (PNYDV) on nodulation, N2 fixation and yield in faba bean (Vicia faba, L.)

“…The effect was demonstrated in three independent experiments under greenhouse, field and on-farm conditions. Such effects are also known for other viruses infecting faba bean (Abd El-Ghaffar et al 2011;Ahmed 1986;Elsheikh and Osman 2002;Gomaa et al 2006;Ismail and Atef 1998) and on other legumes (Gibson 1981;Guy et al 1980;López et al 2017;Mayoral et al 1989;Taiwo et al 2014;Tu and Ford 1984). Within all three experiments, in early infected plants, harvested at BBCH 70-76, the number and weight of nodules decreased by almost half to more than 90%.…”