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Rhizobia are bacteria that induce nodules on the roots of legumes, which they inhabit symbiotically, fixing nitrogen for the plants.
 The inositols, which are simple and common carbohydrates, play an important role in plant-bacterial interactions. But very little is known about the metabolism of scyllo-inositol in any organism.Now Silvia Rossbach and colleagues of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo have discovered a novel periplasmic dehydrogenase that is required for growth in Sinorhizobium meliloti when that species uses scyllo-inositol as a sole carbon source. The researchers also find that strains with mutations in the individual structural inositol genes and a regulatory gene could not compete with the wild-type strain for inhabiting the nodules, showing that the abilities to catabolize inositol compounds, and to properly regulate the inositol catabolic pathway are necessary, says Rossbach. The research's importance extends beyond agriculture. The compound is currently being evaluated in human clinical trials as a therapy for Alzheimer's, Rossbach explains.
(P. R. A. Kohler, J. Y. Zheng, E. Schoffers, and S. Rossbach. 2011. Inositol catabolism, a key pathway in Sinorhizobium meliloti for competitive host nodulation. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 76:7972-7980.)
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