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Figure 5 | BMC Microbiology

Figure 5

From: Disclosure of the differences of Mesorhizobium loti under the free-living and symbiotic conditions by comparative proteome analysis without bacteroid isolation

Figure 5

Schematic representation of the lifestyle under the symbiotic condition compared to the free-living condition. The illustration shows the changes in the lifestyles of M. loti: the lifestyle model under the (a) free-living and (b) symbiotic conditions. The central carbon metabolic pathway is essential under both conditions. Under the symbiotic condition, nitrogen is fixed by electrons from the TCA cycle or other energy metabolism and is provided to the host legume or used for amino acid biosynthesis. Moreover, the flagellum and pilus are lost, and the cell wall, which is mainly composed of peptidoglycan, may become thin or disappear. In contrast, FPP is synthesized to provide to the host legume. Under the free-living condition, LPS is secreted extracellularly as a nod factor to infect the host legume.

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