title: Extracellular polysaccharides and polysaccharide-containing biopolymers from Azospirillum species: properties and the possible role in interaction with plant roots.
abstract: This paper reviews the results obtained in studies of the extracellular polysaccharides, lipopolysaccharide-protein complexes, polysaccharide-lipid complexes, lipopolysaccharides, and O-specific polysaccharides from bacteria of the genus Azospirillum. On the basis of present knowledge, the possible roles of the extracellular polysaccharides and polysaccharide-containing complexes of azospirilla in interaction with the roots of plants are discussed. Some pieces of evidence are considered in light of the lectin hypothesis originally proposed for the legume-Rhizobium symbiosis. In the context of these views of Azospirillumcereal associative pairs, a key process at the early stages of the interaction is the specific reaction of cereal root lectins with the extracellular polysaccharide components, containing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine as part of their structure.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saratov, Russia. root@ibppm.saratov.su
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Skvortsov
authors.forename: V V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Ignatov
mesh_terms: D016949:Azospirillum / Q000502:physiology*; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial