Bacterial attachment as related to cellular recognition in the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis.

Bacterial attachment is viewed as a cellular recognition event during the infection of legumes by the nitrogen-fixing symbiont, Rhizobium. Studies on the biochemical basis of selective attachment are reviewed, and suggest that this recognition process is accomplished by specific glycoprotein lectin-polysaccharide interactions on the surfaces of the symbionts. An understanding of host specificity may lead to ways to broaden the host range of nitrogen-fixing symbioses.