Development of root nodules of mung bean (Vigna radiata): a reinvestigation of endocytosis

Abstract

The release of rhizobia from infection threads of mung bean (V. radiata) root nodules is an endocytotic process. The peribacteroid membrane surrounding the released bacteria is initially derived from the host plasma membrane which surrounds the infection thread and not from the nuclear envelope as previously reported by Prasad and De. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) profiles and Golgi vesicles fuse with the infection thread cell wall and adjacent host plasma membrane. Although some ER profiles were continuous with the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope, no continuities of the nuclear envelope with the infection thread, the host plasma membrane, or the peribacteroid membrane were observed. Furthermore, no blebbing of the nuclear envelope was observed.