Modulation of Endogenous Indole-3-Acetic Acid Biosynthesis in Bacteroids within Medicago sativa Nodules

To evaluate the dose-response effects of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on Medicago plant growth and dry weight production, we increased the synthesis of IAA in both free-living and symbiosis-stage rhizobial bacteroids during Rhizobium-legume symbiosis. For this purpose, site-directed mutagenesis was applied to modify an 85-bp promoter sequence, driving the expression of iaaM and tms2 genes for IAA biosynthesis. A positive correlation was found between the higher expression of IAA biosynthetic genes in free-living bacteria and the increased production of IAA under both free-living and symbiotic conditions. Plants nodulated by RD65 and RD66 strains, synthetizing the highest IAA concentration, showed a significant (up to 73%) increase in the shoot fresh weight and upregulation of nitrogenase gene, nifH, compared to plants nodulated by the wild-type strain. When these plants were analyzed by confocal microscopy, using an anti-IAA antibody, the strongest signal was observed in bacteroids of Medicago sativa RD66 (Ms-RD66) plants, even when they were located in the senescent nodule zone. We show here a simple system to modulate endogenous IAA biosynthesis in bacteria nodulating legumes suitable to investigate which is the maximum level of IAA biosynthesis, resulting in the maximal increase of plant growth.