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Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Analysis of institutional authors

Baena Ropero, IreneAuthorLloret Romero, Francisco JavierAuthor

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October 19, 2020
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The symbiotic biofilm of Sinorhizobium fredii SMH12, necessary for successful colonization and symbiosis of Glycine max cv Osumi, is regulated by quorum sensing systems and inducing flavonoids via NodD1

Publicated to:PLoS ONE. 9 (8): e105901-e105901 - 2014-08-28 9(8), DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105901

Authors: Pérez-Montaño F; Jiménez-Guerrero I; Del Cerro P; Baena-Ropero I; López-Baena F; Ollero F; Bellogín R; Lloret J; Espuny R

Affiliations

Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. - Author
Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain. - Author
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Author
University of Seville - Author

Abstract

Bacterial surface components, especially exopolysaccharides, in combination with bacterial Quorum Sensing signals are crucial for the formation of biofilms in most species studied so far. Biofilm formation allows soil bacteria to colonize their surrounding habitat and survive common environmental stresses such as desiccation and nutrient limitation. This mode of life is often essential for survival in bacteria of the genera Mesorhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium , and Rhizobium. The role of biofilm formation in symbiosis has been investigated in detail for Sinorhizobium meliloti and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. However, for S. fredii this process has not been studied. In this work we have demonstrated that biofilm formation is crucial for an optimal root colonization and symbiosis between S. fredii SMH12 and Glycine max cv Osumi. In this bacterium, nod-gene inducing flavonoids and the NodD1 protein are required for the transition of the biofilm structure from monolayer to microcolony. Quorum Sensing systems are also required for the full development of both types of biofilms. In fact, both the nodD1 mutant and the lactonase strain (the lactonase enzyme prevents AHL accumulation) are defective in soybean root colonization. The impairment of the lactonase strain in its colonization ability leads to a decrease in the symbiotic parameters. Interestingly, NodD1 together with flavonoids activates certain quorum sensing systems implicit in the development of the symbiotic biofilm. Thus, S. fredii SMH12 by means of a unique key molecule, the flavonoid, efficiently forms biofilm, colonizes the legume roots and activates the synthesis of Nod factors, required for successfully symbiosis. © 2014 Pérez-Montaño et al.

Keywords

Life on land

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal PLoS ONE due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2014, it was in position 9/57, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Multidisciplinary Sciences.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.04. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 3.29 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 3.94 (source consulted: Dimensions Sep 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-09-13, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 42
  • Scopus: 52

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-09-13:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 74.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 74 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
Continuing with the social impact of the work, it is important to emphasize that, due to its content, it can be assigned to the area of interest of ODS 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss, with a probability of 76% according to the mBERT algorithm developed by Aurora University.