Plant-colonizing microorganisms

Signal molecules exchanged between plants and microorganisms have been identified that favor beneficial plant colonization. Some compounds present in... 

The use of microbial siderophores by dicotyledonous plants appears to involve uptake of the entire metallated chelate (42-44), or an indirect process in which the siderophore undergoes degradation to release iron (45). As demonstrated in initial studies examining this question, there was concern that iron uptake from microbial siderophores may be an artifact of microbial iron uptake in which radiolabeled iron is accumulated by root-colonizing microorganisms (46). Consequently, evidence for direct uptake of iron from microbial siderophores has required the use of axenic plants. In experiments with cucumber, it was shown that the microbial siderophore ferrioxamine B could be used as an iron source at concentrations as low as 5 pM and that the siderophore itself entered the plant (42). 

These data strongly suggest that siderophore production by root-colonizing microorganisms is induced only at a level neeessary to supplement that which is not provided by phytosiderophores and organic acids released during the plant iron stress response. Thus, the plant iron stress response may control iron availability to microorganisms in the rhizosphere. 

Vitamin B12 is not found in plants. The primary source is microorganisms and the usual dietary sources for humans are meat and meat products (including shellfish, fish and poultry) and to a lesser extent milk and milk products. However, normally the microorganisms in the colon provide most of the requirement. 

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