The symbiotic bradyrhizobia of Aeschynomene indica and the aquatic budding bacterium Blastobacter denitrificans have much in common and this study broadens the characters that are shared between the two. The 23S rRNA gene sequences of the bradyrhizobial isolates were most similar to each other and to the sequence of Bl. denitrificans. Evidence for the presence of photosynthetic genes in the genome of Bl. denitrificans was obtained by PCR using primers to the conserved M subunit (pufM) of the photosynthetic reaction center present in purple sulfur and purple nonsulfur bacteria. The deduced amino acid sequences of the partial PufM protein of Bl. denitrificans and the corresponding sequences obtained from the bradyrhizobial isolates were identical. Both the bradyrhizobial isolates and the type strain of Bl. denitrificans shared the ability to propagate by budding, demonstrated by electron microscopy. Even though many interspecific characters were shared among the bradyrhizobial isolates including Bl. denitrificans, it was evident from Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) analysis that genomic variation existed among the collection that was examined. Variation among bradyrhizobial isolates and Bl. denitrificans also was established in carbon and nitrogen source utilization and the ability to grow at elevated temperature. Based on these results and previously reported evidence it is suggested that the type strain for Bl. denitrificans and the bradyrhizobial isolates from nodules of A. indica belong to a common group of bacteria. Therefore, it is proposed that they be combined into the genus Bradyrhizobium and that LMG 8443 be transferred to this genus as the type strain for B. denitrificans.

ABSTRACT The phylogenetic relatedness among 12 agriculturally important species in the order Rhizobiales was estimated by comparative 16S rRNA and dnaK sequence analyses. Two groups of related species were identified by neighbor-joining and maximum-parsimony analysis. One group consisted of Mesorhizobium loti and Mesorhizobium ciceri , and the other group consisted of Agrobacterium rhizogenes , Rhizobium tropici , Rhizobium etli , and Rhizobium leguminosarum . Although bootstrap support for the placement of the remaining six species varied, A. tumefaciens , Agrobacterium rubi , and Agrobacterium vitis were consistently associated in the same subcluster. The three other species included Rhizobium galegae , Sinorhizobium meliloti , and Brucella ovis . Among these, the placement of R. galegae was the least consistent, in that it was placed flanking the A. rhizogenes - Rhizobium cluster in the dnaK nucleotide sequence trees, while it was placed with the other three Agrobacterium species in the 16S rRNA and the DnaK amino acid trees. In an effort to explain the inconsistent placement of R. galegae , we examined polymorphic site distribution patterns among the various species. Localized runs of nucleotide sequence similarity were evident between R. galegae and certain other species, suggesting that the R. galegae genes are chimeric. These results provide a tenable explanation for the weak statistical support often associated with the phylogenetic placement of R. galegae , and they also illustrate a potential pitfall in the use of partial sequences for species identification.

ABSTRACT It is evident from complete genome sequencing results that lateral gene transfer and recombination are essential components in the evolutionary process of bacterial genomes. Since this has important implications for bacterial systematics, the primary objective of this study was to compare estimated evolutionary relationships among a representative set of α- Proteobacteria by sequencing analysis of three loci within their rrn operons. Tree topologies generated with 16S rRNA gene sequences were significantly different from corresponding trees assembled with 23S rRNA gene and internally transcribed space region sequences. Besides the incongruence in tree topologies, evidence that distinct segments along the 16S rRNA gene sequences of bacteria currently classified within the genera Bradyrhizobium , Mesorhizobium and Sinorhizobium have a reticulate evolutionary history was also obtained. Our data have important implications for bacterial taxonomy, because currently most taxonomic decisions are based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Since phylogenetic placement based on 16S rRNA gene sequence divergence perhaps is questionable, we suggest that the proposals of bacterial nomenclature or changes in their taxonomy that have been made may not necessarily be warranted. Accordingly, a more conservative approach should be taken in the future, in which taxonomic decisions are based on the analysis of a wider variety of loci and comparative analytical methods are used to estimate phylogenetic relationships among the genomes under consideration.

SDS-PAGE of total bacterial proteins was applied to the classification of 25 Sudanese and five Kenyan strains isolated from the root nodules of Acacia senegal and Prosopis chilensis. Twenty strains were also studied by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) and the whole 16S rRNA gene was sequenced from two strains representing the two major clusters. These results, together with the previously reported numerical taxonomy analysis, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis studies, DNA-DNA dot-blot hybridization, genomic fingerprinting using repetitive sequence-based PCR, DNA base composition analysis, DNA-DNA reassociation analysis, partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and RFLP analysis of the amplified 16S rRNA gene, showed that all 30 strains belong to the genus Sinorhizobium. Two of the strains grouped with Sinorhizobium saheli and seven with Sinorhizobium terangae, while the rest did not cluster with any of the established species. The majority of the strains formed two phenotypically and genotypically distinct groups and we therefore propose that these strains should be classified as two new species, Sinorhizobium arboris sp. nov. and Sinorhizobium kostiense sp. nov.

Medicago ruthenica [(L.) Ledebour] is native to inner Mongolia where rhizosphere samples were collected for the isolation of 106 rhizobial cultures. Besides nodulating the original trap host, the isolates formed nitrogen-fixing symbioses with Phaseolus vulgaris. Only half of the isolates nodulated alfalfa (Medicago sativa), but these did not form nitrogen-fixing symbioses. Rhizobium tropici also formed nitrogen-fixing symbioses with Medicago ruthenica. A total of 56 distinctive multilocus electrophoretic types (ETs) were identified among 94 of the 106 isolates which were analysed for variation in electrophoretic mobility of 12 enzyme loci. One isolate (USDA 1920) possessed a unique ET, while the ETs of the other isolates formed two weakly divergent subgroups approximately equal in size. It was concluded from small subunit rRNA gene sequences of eight isolates of Medicago ruthenica that they belonged to the genus Rhizobium and not to the genus Sinorhizobium which is more commonly associated with Medicago. Genomic similarity, determined from DNA hybridization analysis, between USDA 1920 and the strain representing the remaining isolates (USDA 1844) was lower than 20%. Based upon these observations it was concluded that at least three genomic species of rhizobia form nitrogen-fixing symbioses with Medicago ruthenica. One of these genomic species is R. tropici, another is represented by the single isolate USDA 1920 and the name Rhizobium mongolense is proposed for the third genomic species represented by USDA 1844.

Previous evidence has indicated that the 16S rRNA genes in certain species of Aeromonas may have a history of lateral transfer and recombination. A comparative analysis of patterns of 16S nucleotide sequence polymorphism among species of Rhizobium and Agrobacterium was conducted to determine if there is similar evidence for chimeric 16S genes in members of the Rhizobiaceae. Results from phylogenetic analyses and comparison of patterns of nucleotide sequence polymorphism in portions of rhizobial 16S genes revealed the same type of segment-dependent polymorphic site partitioning that was previously reported for Aeromonas. These results support the hypothesis that certain 16S segments in rhizobia may have a history of lateral transfer and recombination.

Previously, we found that genetically diverse rhizobia nodulating Lotus corniculatus at a field site devoid of naturalized rhizobia had symbiotic DNA regions identical to those of ICMP3153, the inoculant strain used at the site (J. T. Sullivan, H. N. Patrick, W. L. Lowther, D. B. Scott, and C. W. Ronson, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:8985-8989, 1995). In this study, we characterized seven nonsymbiotic rhizobial isolates from the rhizosphere of L. corniculatus. These included two from plants at the field site sampled by Sullivan et al. and five from plants at a new field plot adjacent to that site. The isolates did not nodulate Lotus species or hybridize to symbiotic gene probes but did hybridize to genomic DNA probes from Rhizobium loti. Their genetic relationships with symbiotic isolates obtained from the same sites, with inoculant strain ICMP3153, and with R. loti NZP2213T were determined by three methods. Genetic distance estimates based on genomic DNA-DNA hybridization and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis were correlated but were not consistently reflected by 16S rRNA nucleotide sequence divergence. The nonsymbiotic isolates represented four genomic species that were related to R. loti; the diverse symbiotic isolates from the site belonged to one of these species. The inoculant strain ICMP3153 belonged to a fifth genomic species that was more closely related to Rhizobium huakuii. These results support the proposal that nonsymbiotic rhizobia persist in soils in the absence of legumes and acquire symbiotic genes from inoculant strains upon introduction of host legumes.

The phylogenetic relationships among Rhizobium species that nodulate Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) were determined by directly sequencing the amplified 16S ribosomal DNA genes of these organisms. The bean strains formed four separate clusters. One cluster was composed of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii, R. leguminosarum bv. viciae, and R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli. Two other clusters comprised Rhizobium etli and Rhizobium tropici, and the fourth cluster contained a single bean-nodulating strain. Data for species identification were obtained from DNA-DNA reassociation experiments. The levels of DNA relatedness among strains belonging to the three biovars of R. leguminosarum ranged from 58 to 67%. The levels of DNA relatedness between R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli and R. etli and R. tropici ranged from 43 to 45% and 13 to 16%, respectively. The levels of DNA relatedness between the strain belonging to the fourth cluster and strains of the other three Rhizobium species that nodulate beans were less than 10%.

Evolutionary genetic relationships among 146 bean-nodulating Rhizobium strains, including 94 field isolates from three localities in Colombia and 36 strains from Mexico, were examined by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a PCR-amplified 260-bp segment of the 16S rRNA gene. Seventy-five electrophoretic types (ETs), corresponding to multilocus enzyme genotypes, were identified, including a genotypically diverse group of 18 ETs in Colombia that is strongly differentiated from the ETs of R. etli, which occur in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. Most strains of the distinctive Colombian ETs carried the same 16S rRNA allele as did strains of R. etli, but, surprisingly, 17 isolates of two of these ETs had the allele that is characteristic of R. leguminosarum, and strains of two other divergent groups of ETs were also polymorphic for the two alleles. No fully satisfactory explanation for the occurrence of the R. leguminosarum 16S rRNA allele in three distantly related groups of strains is available, but horizontal transfer and recombination of the gene, in whole or in part, would seem to be more plausible than convergence in nucleotide sequence.

Phenotypic and DNA sequence comparisons are presented for eight Rhizobium isolates that were cultured from field-grown alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in Oregon. These isolates were previously shown to nodulate both alfalfa and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris (L.) Savi.). The objective of the present study was to determine their phylogenetic relationships to the normal symbionts of these plants, Rhizobium meliloti and Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli, respectively. Phenotypically, the Oregon isolates more nearly resemble strains from P. vulgaris than those from M. sativa. For example, even though nitrogen fixation levels were low with both host species, the symbiotic efficiency of a representative Rhizobium isolate (Or 191) with common bean was twice that observed with alfalfa. Comparative sequencing of a 260-bp segment of the 16S rRNA gene (directly sequenced after amplification by the polymerase chain reaction) demonstrated that Or 191 is not closely related to the type strain of R. meliloti (ATCC 9930), R. leguminosarum (ATCC 10004), or Rhizobium tropici (CIAT 899). Instead, sequence comparisons of the 16S gene indicated that Or 191 belongs to a distinct and previously unrecognized taxonomic group that includes strains that have previously been called R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli type I. Unlike type I strains, however, Or 191 has only a single copy of the nifH gene (type I strains have three), and the nucleotide sequence of this gene is substantially different from those of other rhizobial and nonrhizobial nifH genes examined thus far.

Plasmids in Rhizobium spp. are relatively large, numerous, and difficult to cure. Except for the symbiotic plasmid, little is known about their functions. The primary objective of our investigation was to obtain plasmid-cured derivatives of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii by using a direct selection system and to determine changes in the phenotype of the cured strains. Three strains of rhizobia were utilized that contained three, four, and five plasmids. Phenotypic effects observed after curing of plasmids indicated that the plasmids were involved in the utilization of adonitol, arabinose, catechol, glycerol, inositol, lactose, malate, rhamnose, and sorbitol and also influenced motility, lipopolysaccharide production, and utilization of nitrate. Specific staining of 26 enzymes electrophoretically separated on starch gels indicated that superoxide dismutase, hexokinase, and carbamate kinase activities were affected by curing of plasmids. Curing of cryptic plasmids also influenced nodulation and growth of plants on nitrogen-deficient media. The alteration in the ability to utilize various substrates after curing of plasmids suggests that the plasmids may encode genes that contribute significantly to the saprophytic competence of rhizobia in soil.

A 260-bp segment of the DNA that encodes 16S rRNA, corresponding to positions 44 to 337 in the Escherichia coli sequence, was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and sequenced from each of 13 bacteria (rhizobia and purple phototrophs) in the alpha subdivision of the class Proteobacteria. The phylogenetic tree calculated from differences in the sequenced segment conforms well to our expectations based on other previously published data. The sequence from BTAi1 (a recently described phototrophic symbiont of the legume Aeschynomene) and that from the free-living phototroph Rhodopseudomonas palustris both fall within the range of variation found among strains of the soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium japonicum. This suggests that it would be appropriate to include all of these organisms in a single genus.

The genetic structure of populations of the symbiotic nitrogen-fixing soil bacterium Rhizobium meliloti was examined by analysis of electrophoretically demonstrable allelic variation in 14 metabolic, presumably chromosomal, enzyme genes. A total of 232 strains were examined, most of which were isolated from southwest Asia, where there is an unsurpassed number of indigenous host species for R. meliloti. The collection consisted of 115 isolates recovered from annual species of Medicago in Syria, Turkey, and Jordan; 85 isolates cultured from two perennial species of Medicago (M. sativa [alfalfa] and M. falcata) in northern Pakistan and Nepal; and 32 isolates collected at various localities in North and South America, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, largely from M. sativa. Fifty distinctive multilocus genotypes (electrophoretic types [ETs]) were identified, and cluster analysis revealed two primary phylogenetic divisions separated at a genetic distance of 0.83. By the criterion of genetic differentiation conventionally applied in defining species limits among members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and certain other bacteria, the two primary divisions of R. meliloti represent distinct evolutionary species. Division A included 35 ETs represented by 209 strains from the eastern Mediterranean basin, northern Pakistan, Nepal, and various other localities worldwide. This division contained the nine commercial alfalfa inoculant strains examined. Division B included 15 ETs represented by 23 isolates, 21 of which were isolated from annual medic species growing in previously uninoculated soils in the eastern Mediterranean basin. The two remaining strains in division B, both representing the same ET, were isolated in the United States and Australia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)