Immunofluorescent polar tips of Rhizobium japonicum: possible site of attachment or lectin binding.

Rhizobium japonicum USDA 31 demonstrated marked polarity by binding homologous fluorescent antibody (FA) heavily on one end of the cell. FA prepared against R. japonicum strains 110 and 138, and against R. trifolii TA1 cross-reacted with strain 31 only in the polar tip region. No polar immunofluorescing tips could be seen with FA against two other strains of R. japonicum or with those against several unrelated microorganisms. Common antigens localized only in a polar region were seen in many rhizobia stained with R. japonicum 31 FA: 22 of 23 strains of R. japonicum, 10 of 17 strains of R. trifolii, 3 of 7 strains of R. melitolii, 3 of 6 strains of R. phaseoli, and 3 of 9 strains of R. leguminosarum had some cells with detectable polar tips. The proportion of R. japonicum 31 cells with polar tips was high throughout the growth cycle. Polar tip staining was not affected by drastic cell treatments. A function was proposed for the polar tip region as a site for attachment. R. japonicum 31 cells attached to each other in a tip-to-tip fashion and endwise to fungal hyphae with the polar tip in contact with the hyphal wall. Binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled soybean lectin to certain strains of R. japonicum gave additional evidence of polarity. Polar binding of both antibody and lectin may provide insights into relationships between rhizobia and roots of host legumes.