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Rhizobium zaerense sp. nov., a novel member of the Rhizobium leguminosarum species complex with a broad geographic distribution and multiple legume hosts.

A novel nitrogen-fixing rhizobial strain, designated Z1P35ᵀ, was isolated from root nodules of Pisum sativum grown in the Zaër region of Morocco. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene placed strain Z1P35ᵀ within the genus Rhizobium, showing 100% sequence identity with several undescribed genospecies of the Rhizobium leguminosarum species complex (Rlc). Strain Z1P35ᵀ exhibited low average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values with all described Rhizobium species, but high ANI and dDDH values (97.62 and 78.8%, respectively) with Rhizobium sp. SRDI565, representing genospecies M (GsM) of the Rlc, suggesting that Z1P35ᵀ represents a novel species corresponding to GsM within this complex. FastANI screening against all Rhizobium genomes available in GenBank revealed that Z1P35ᵀ shares ANI values above the bacterial species delimitation threshold with 17 unclassified strains, which, together with Z1P35ᵀ and Rhizobium sp. SRDI565 (GsM), form a distinct lineage within the Rlc. These 17 strains originate from root nodules of diverse legume hosts and are distributed across the Mediterranean region and Australia, including representatives of the symbiovars viciae and trifolii. Phylogenomic analysis further confirms the clustering of Z1P35ᵀ with Rhizobium sp. SRDI565 (GsM) and several undescribed Rhizobium strains, forming a unique taxonomic unit clearly distinct from other members of the Rlc. Strain Z1P35ᵀ has a genome of 7.6 Mb with a G+C content of 61 mol% and carries numerous genes associated with chemotaxis, nodulation, nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, iron acquisition and abiotic stress tolerance. Differentiation of Z1P35ᵀ from described Rhizobium species was further supported by phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses. Based on these results, we conclude that Z1P35T belongs to a novel species, corresponding to genospecies M within the Rlc, for which we propose the name Rhizobium zaerense sp. nov. The type strain is Z1P35ᵀ (DSM 120601ᵀ=CCMM B1365ᵀ).

Phylogeny

Genetically marked Rhizobium identifiable as inoculum strain in nodules of soybean plants grown in fields populated with Rhizobium japonicum.

The fate of an inoculum strain of Rhizobium japonicum was studied using a genetically marked strain I-11O subline carrying resistance markers for azide, rifampin, and streptomycin (I-110 ARS). At the time of planting into a field populated with R. japonicum, seeds of soybean cultivars Kent and Peking were inoculated with varying cell densities of strain I-110 ARS. At various times during the growing season, surface-sterilized root nodules were examined for the presence of the inoculum strain by plating onto selective media. The recovery of the inoculum strain was unambiguous, varying, in the case of Kent cultivar, from about 5% with plants (sampled at 51 days) that had been inoculated with 3 X 10(8) cells per cm of row to about 20% with plants (sampled at 90 days) that had been inoculated with 3 X 10(9) cells per cm. The symbiotically incompatible interaction of Peking and strain 110 in Rhizobium-populated field soil was confirmed by the finding that at 60 days after planting, only one nodule in 360 sampled contained strain I-110 ARS. The use of genetically marked Rhizobium bacteria was found to provide for precise identification of the inoculum strain in nodules of field-grown soybeans.

Azides

Flow-microfluorometric analysis of Escherichia coli, Rhizobium meliloti, and Rhizobium japonicum at different stages of the growth cycle.

The applicability of flow-microfluorometry (FMF) to the study of bacterial samples was investigated on cultures of Rhizobium meliloti, Rhizobium japonicum, and Escherichia coli using fluorescent and light-scattering signals. This technique which analyzes individual bacterial cells in a population was used to monitor the relative change in nucleic acid content and cell size during the growth cycle of the three microorganisms which were known to have different growth rates. Early log-phase E. coli cells contained at least eightfold more nucleic acid and were significantly larger than the stationary-phase cells. Cultures of early log-phase R. meliloti cells contained three to four-fold more nucleic acid and were slightly larger than cells in the stationary phase. Rhizobium japonicum had very little change in either parameter. In general, the amount of change in both cell size and nucleic acid content upon initiation of log-phase growth was related to the overall growt rate of the organisms, with E. coli experiencing the greatest change and R. japonicum the least. Results obtained by FMF analysis, therefore, were consistent with observations reported by earlier workers. Cultures of R. meliloti also were used to demonstrate that the intensity of the fluorescent signals was sensitive to digestion by DNase and RNase and to prolonged storage and fixation. The potential use of FMF in the study of microorganisms is discussed.

Cell Cycle

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase activity of Rhizobium species.

FDP aldolase was found to be present in the cell-free extracts of Rhizobium leguminosarum, Rhizobium phaseoli, Rhizobium trifolii, Rhizobium meliloti, Rhizobium lupini, Rhizobium japonicum and Rhizobium species from Arachis hypogaea and Sesbania cannabina. The enzyme in 3 representative species has optimal activity at pH 8.4 in 0.2M veronal buffer. The enzyme activity was completely lost by treatment at 60 degrees C for 15 min. The Km values were in the range from 2.38 to 4.55 X 10(-6)M FDP. Metal chelating agents inhibited enzyme activity, but monovalent or bivalent metal ions failed to stimulate the activity. Bivalent metal ions in general were rather inhibitory.

Cell-Free System

Control of ammonium assimilation in Rhizobium 32H1.

The symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing bacterium Rhizobium sp. 32H1 is a specialized ammonium producer during symbiosis. However, during free-living growth, Rhizobium 32H1 assimilates ammonium very poorly. Two pathways of ammonium assimilation exist in enteric bacteria. One is mediated by glutamate dehydrogenase, and the other is mediated by glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase. The former pathway is altogether inoperative in Rhizobium 32H1; the latter pathway operates at a slow rate and is under strict negative control by ammonium itself. Rhizobium 32H1 glutamine synthetase activity is modulated by both repression-derepression and reversible adenylylation. For a biochemical process lacking an alternative pathway, such a regulatory pattern exacerbates the very process. This suggests that Rhizobium 32H1 restricts its own ammonium assimilation to maximize the contribution of fixed nitrogen to the host plant during symbiosis.

Adenine Nucleotides

Structure of nitrogen-fixing nodules formed by Rhizobium on roots of Parasponia andersonii Planch.

The structure of nitrogen-fixing nodules produced by Rhizobium infection of the non-legume Parasponia andersonii was examined by light and electron (both SEM and TEM) microscopy. Comparisons were made with the nodules previously described on P. rugosa. Like the nodules on different non-legumes formed by other types of endophytes, the Rhizobium nodules on Parasponia resembled modified roots by having a central vascular bundle surrounded by an endophyte-infected zone. The intimate association between the Rhizobium and the host nodule cell was compared with the Rhizobium association found in legumes. The rhizobia were not released from the infection thread as happens in the legume. The infection thread, which propagates the Rhizobium infection to new cells, was transformed within a nodule cell from a darkly stained (light microscopy) or very electron-dense (TEM) structure to a number of thread types. The walls of the threads varied greatly in thickness and often the thread structures were without rigid walls and were only enclosed by a plasma membrane. If the rhizobia are transformed into bacteroids, as in the legumes, it would have to occur when the threads had reached their mature size, when bacterial division had ceased. Nitrogen fixation was considered to occur in all thread types.

Nitrogen Fixation

Polypeptide synthesis by Rhizobium bacteroids and bacteria.

When Rhizobium bacteroids (strain NZP 2257) from lupin nodules were isolated and incubated aerobically at high osmolarity, they incorporated [35S]-methionine into a characteristic set of polypeptides; many of these polypeptides coelectrophoresed on SDS-polyacrylamide gels with the bacteroid polypeptide bands stained by Coomassie blue. The labelled polypeptides were stable for several hours in pulse-chase experiments. Changes in the concentration of H+, K+ and Mg2+ in the incubation mixture affected overall incorporation of label, but not the relative incorporation into different polypeptides. A similar set of bacteroid polypeptides was labelled in situ when detached nodules were fed [35S]methionine. Distinctive labelling patterns were observed with bacteroid suspensions from mature and immature nodules, with a transitional pattern at the time when nitrogenase activity appeared. Two of the major labelled components in mature bacteroids had estimated molecular weights of 60- and 34-kilodaltons similar to values reported by others for the constituent polypeptides of nitrogenase. Bacteroids of the same Rhizobium strain grown in different plant hosts gave similar polypeptide labelling patterns in purified suspensions, but bacteroids of different Rhizobium strains gave different patterns. The polypeptide labelling patterns obtained using broth-cultured Rhizobium bacteria from various growth stages and growth media differed from those obtained using bacteroids of the same strain.

Bacteria

Transfer of RP4 and R68.45 factors to Rhizobium.

Two R factor were introduced by conjugation into Rhizobium trifolii and Rhizobium meliloti strains at a frequency of 10(-5) to 10(-6). Plasmids RP4 from Escherichia coli J53 and R68.45 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO.25 were maintained stably in Rhizobium hosts and could be retransferred to other Rhizobium recipients. Some of the transconjugants were able to mobilize chromosome and transfer his or met genes in intra-, and interspecies matings.

Conjugation, Genetic

[Deformation of lucerne root hairs caused by the growth substances and culture broth filtrates of Rhizobium meliloti].

Deformation of lucerne root hairs caused by the action of beta-indolylacetic acid (IAA) and alpha-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) differs from deformation induced by Rhizobium meliloti. High concentrations of IAA brought about abnormal deformation of root hairs wherease the action of average concentrations of IAA resulted in corkscrew-like winding and wavy structures. No deformation was observed under the action of low IAA concentrations or the cultural broth of Rhizobium. Infective filaments in root hairs were found only upon infection with pure cultures of Rhizobium.

Acetates

Salt tolerance of Rhizobium species in broth cultures.

Salt tolerance of five rhizobia strains was examined in broth cultures. Five levels of NaCl concentration were used and the optical density was taken as a measure for the vigour of bacterial growth. Rhizobium leguminosarum and R. meliloti were tolerant to high levels of salinity and growth curves in saline broth showed a similar pattern to the control level. Rhizobium japonicum, cowpea Rhizobium, and R. trifolii were intolerant to salt and showed a strong growth retardation with increasing salt concentration. Growth was inhibited at high levels of salinity. It is suggested that rhizobia sensitivity to salts may be partly responsible to the inhibition of nitrogen fixation by legumes growing under salt stress.

Culture Media

Effect of lindane on radio-carbon (14C) incorporation by Rhizobium japonicum.

Experiments conducted in vitro with three levels (1, 2, and 5 ppm active ingredient) of the insecticide lindane (gamma-BHC) showed no effect on the growth of Rhizobium japonicum, but altered the incorporation of radio-carbon (14C-glucose) into the different constituents of the growing cells. While all the three levels of the insecticide significantly depressed the incorporation of radiocarbon in the alcohol-extractable fraction, with no effect on the alcohol-ether soluble fraction of the cells, the 2 and 5 ppm levels enhanced the incorporation rate in the cold-TCA soluble fraction, but reduced it in the hot-TCA soluble fraction. Only with the 5ppm level of the insecticide treatment an increase in the specific activity of the insoluble protein fraction of the cells was observed. The results indicated that lindane, at various concentrations, affected the carbon (glucose) metabolism of the Rhizobium cells.

Glucose

Re-examination of transformation within different species of Rhizobium.

Investigations of the phenomenon of transformation in Rhizobium were carried out. Streptomycin resistance (str) was the genetic marker used in all experiments, with the exception of auxotrophic strains. Twenty-one experiments were performed on nine different Rhizobium strains. Some of these strains were previously reported to be transformed, while others had no prior history of transformation. Different conditions which are thought to affect the development of competence were used. In these experiments no positive results were obtained. The possibility that the experiments failed, due to inactivation of donor DNA during its preparation, was ruled out by comparison with results obtained with strains of Bacillus subtilis.

Bacillus subtilis

The Rhizobium--legume symbiosis.

The rhizobia are soil microorganisms that can interact with leguminous plants to form root nodules within which conditions are favourable for bacterial nitrogen fixation. Legumes allow the development of very large rhizobial populations in the vicinity of their roots. Infections and nodule formation require the specific recognition of host and Rhizobium, probably mediated by plant lectins. Penetration of the host by a compatible Rhizobium species usually provokes host root cell division to form the nodule, and a process of differentiation by both partners then ensues. In most cases the rhizobia alter morphologically to form bacteroids, which are usually larger than the free-living bacteria and have altered cell walls. At all stages during infection, the bacteria are bounded by host cell plasmalemma. The enzyme nitrogenase is synthesized by the bacteria and, if leghaemoglobin is present, nitrogen fixation will occur. Leghaemoglobin is a product of the symbiotic interaction, since the globin is produced by the plant while the haem is synthesized by the bacteria. In the intracellular habitat the bacteria are dependent upon the plant for supplies of energy and the bacteroids, in particular, appear to differentiate so that they are no longer able to utilize the nitrogen that they fix. Regulation of the supply of carbohydrate and the use of the fixed nitrogen thus appear to be largely governed by the host.

Leghemoglobin

Adsorption of a phage tail-like bacteriocin to isolated lipopolysaccharide of Rhizobium.

Purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the bacteriocin sensitive strain Rhizobium lupini i6-2 was shown to neutralize the killing activity of the bacteriocin. In the electron microscopical preparation the phage tail-like bacteriocin appears to be adsorbed to the LPS; the tail sheath is contracted and the fibres are oriented towards the LPS ribbon. In contrast, no interaction was observed between the bacteriocin and the LPS of two resistant strains of Rhizobium (16-2/Ii and 16-3). The inactivation of the bacteriocin by LPS depends on salt concentration, pH, and temperature. The receptor activity of LPS was destroyed by mild acid hydrolysis and by treatment with deoxycholate, which indicates that the micellar structure of the LPS is necessary for bacteriocin adsorption. The chemical composition of the 16-2 LPS was compared to that of the LPS of two resistant strains. In the case of 16-2/ii LPS minor modifications suffice to confer resistance against the bacteriocin.

Acetates

Transfer of R factors to and between genetically marked sublines of Rhizobium japonicum.

Plasmids R1822 and pRD1 of the P-1 incompatibility group, for which Rhizobium japonicum had not previously been shown to serve as host, were introduced into a strain of R. japonicum. Acquisition of R68 and R68.45 plasmids by this Rhizobium was equivocal. Transfer of R1822 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and of pRD1 from Escherichia coli to R. japonicum was unambiguous, because the exconjugants subsequently cotransferred the three R-factor resistance determinants (kanamycin, tetracycline, and penicillin) between genetically marked sublines of strain I-110. Under optimal conditions the transfer of R1822 and pRD1 occurred at frequencies of approximately 10(-3) in plate matings of strains bearing as many as five dissimilar genetic markers. In matings with R1822 on membrane filters, recombinants were formed at incidences as high as 4%.

Anti-Bacterial Agents

Cross-reactive antigens and lectin as determinants of symbiotic specificity in the Rhizobium-clover association.

Cross-reactive antigens of clover roots and Rhizobium trifolii were detected on their cell surfaces by tube agglutination, immunofluorescent, and radioimmunoassay techniques. Anti-clover root antiserum had a higher agglutinating titer with infective strains of R. trifolii than with noninfective strains. The root antiserum previously adsorbed with noninfective R. trifolii cells remained reactive only with infective cells, including infective revertants. When adsorbed with infective cells, the root antiserum was reactive with neither infective nor noninfective cells. Other Rhizobium species incapable of infecting clover did not demonstrate surface antigens cross-reactive with clover. Radioimmunoassay indicated twice as much antigenic cross-reactivity of clover roots and R. trifolii 403 (infective) than R. trifolii Bart A (noninfective). Immunofluorescence with anti-R. trifolii (infective) antiserum was detected on the exposed surface of the root epidermal cells and diminished at the root meristem. The immunofluorescent crossreaction on clover roots was totally removed by adsorption of anti-R. trifolii (infective) antiserum with encapsulated infective cells but not with noninfective cells. The cross-reactive capsular antigens from R. trifolii strains were extracted and purified. The ability of these antigens to induce clover root hair deformation was much greater when they were obtained from the infective than noninfective strains. The cross-reactive capsular antigen of R. trifolii 403 was characterized as a high-molecular-weight (greater than 4.6 times 10(6) daltons), beta-linked, acidic heteropolysaccharide containing 2-deoxyglucose, galactose, glucose, and glucuronic acid. A soluble, nondialyzable, substance (clover lectin) capable of binding to the cross-reactive antigen and agglutinating only infective cells of R. trifolii was extracted from white clover seeds. This lectin was sensitive to heat, Pronase, and trypsin. inhibition studies indicated that 2-deoxyglucose was the most probable haptenic determinant of the cross-reactive capsular antigen capable of binding to the root antiserum and the clover lectin. A model is proposed suggesting the preferential adsorption of infective versus noninfective cells of R. trifolii on the surface of clover roots by a cross-bridging of their common surface antigens with a multivalent clover lectin.

Antigens, Bacterial

Bacterial polysaccharide which binds Rhizobium trifolii to clover root hairs.

Immunofluorescence, quantitative immunoprecipitation, and inhibition of bacterial agglutination and passive hemagglutination indicate that cross-reactive antigenic determinants are present on the surface of Rhizobium trifolii and clover roots. These determinants are immunochemically unique to this Rhizobium-legume cross-inoculation group. The multivalent lectin trifoliin and antibody to the clover root antigenic determinants bind competitively to two acidic heteropolysaccharides isolated from capsular material of R. Trifolii 0403. The major polysaccharide is an antigen which lacks heptose, 2-keto-3-deoxyoctulosonic acid, and endotoxic lipid A. The minor polysaccharide in the capsular material of R. Trifolii 0403 contains the same antigen in addition to heptose, 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, and lipid A. The acidic polysaccharides of two strains of R. trifolii share the clover r-ot cross-reactive antigenic determinant despite other differences in their carbohydrate composition. Studies with monovalent antigen-binding fragments of anti-clover root antibody and Azotobacter vinelandii hybrid transformants carrying the unique antigenic determinant suggest that these polysaccharides bind R. trifolii to the clover root hair tips which contain trifoliin.

Azotobacter