Biological role of lectins from the nitrogen-fixing Paenibacillus polymyxa strain 1460 during bacterial-plant-root interactions.

Enzyme-lectins LI and LII from Paenibacillus polymyxa 1460, when incubated with the carbohydrate moiety of the wheat-root exocomponent fraction, showed an increase in their proteolytic activity. This increase may be associated with the presence of lectin-specific carbohydrates in the root fraction. The lectins of the nitrogen-fixing paenibacilli enhance cellulose degradation in the plant cell, thus increasing the activity of beta-glucosidase in the wheat-root cell wall.