Lectins and leghemoglobins in legumes play the important roles, respectively, in recognition of host plants to their own rhizobia, and lowering the oxygen partial pressure surround the bacteroids and protecting nitrogenase from oxygen in symbiotic nitrogen_fixing nodules.In order to investigate the non_leguminous recognition of rhizobial bacteria relating to nitrogen fixation, plant expression vectors containing pea lectin gene ( pl ) and Parasponia hemoglobin gene ( phb ) have been, respectively, constructed in a plasmid and the plasmid has been introduced into tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L.) using Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Smith et Townsend) Conn as a vehicle for transformation. PCR and Southern blot demonstrated that the two genes were integrated into the genome of the tobacco plants. Histochemical staining for GUS activity, Western blotting,and in situ hybridization of pea lectin showed that they were expressed at translational level in the plants. These results may provide a clue for exploring whether Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae could extend its host range and make the transgenic tobacco plants have the possibility of being symbiotic, or associative to nitrogen fixation.
