Rhizobia transform legume nodules via native T-DNA transfer systems
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S.-C. Hsieh, E.-M. Lai, C.-H. Kuo · DOI: 10.64898/2026.11.03.763973 · Summary page
Why cover this story this week?
Plant-associated bacteria have more genetic delivery systems than expected
Agrobacteria’s ability to deliver DNA into plant cells underpins a major tool of plant genetic engineering. A new preprint suggests that this capability belongs to a wider bacterial tradition. A screen of 63,759 alphaproteobacterial genomes found candidate transferable DNA segments in diverse rhizobia, the bacteria best known for their partnership with legumes.
Experiments showed that native rhizobial systems delivered these small DNA segments into nodules of common bean, pea and chickpea, where their cargo genes were expressed; no signal was detected in neighbouring root tissue. Comparing the transfer machinery across bacterial lineages suggested that agrobacterial and rhizobial systems are distinct specializations of an older capability. This expands the evolutionary context of bacteria-to-plant DNA transfer, but delivery and expression in nodules do not by themselves demonstrate stable, heritable transformation of whole plants.
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