Phylogenetic analysis of 23S rRNA gene sequences of. Agrobacterium, Rhizobium and Sinorhizobium strains

The phylogenetic relationship among twelve Agrobacterium, four Rhizobium, and two Sinorhizobium strains originating from various host plants and geographical regions was studied by analysis of the 23S rDNA sequences. The study included Agrobacterium strains belonging to biovars 1, 2 (with tumor- or hairy-root inducing and non-pathogenic strains), A. vitis, A. rubi; representative species of the Rhizobium genus: R. galegae, R. leguminosarum and R. tropici and Sinorhizobium meliloti strains. The phylogenetic analysis showed that within Agrobacterium, the biovar designation was reflected in the 23S rDNA similarity and that strains of Agrobacterium and Rhizobium are closely related to each other. The results suggest that the taxonomic definition of Agrobacterium and Rhizobium should be considered for revision and that the Agrobacterium-biovar identity is probably a reliable taxonomic trait.     

Characterization of Rhizobium 'hedysari' by RFLP analysis of PCR amplified rDNA and by genomic PCR fingerprinting

The taxonomic and discriminatory power of RFLP analysis of PCR amplified parts of rhizobial rrn operons was compared to those of genomic PCR fingerprinting with arbitrary and repetitive primers. For this purpose, the two methods were applied for characterization of a group of bacterial isolates referred to as Rhizobium 'hedysari'. As outgroups, representatives of the family Rhizobiaceae, belonging to the Rhizobium galegae, Rhizobium meliloti, Rhizobium leguminosarum and Agrobacterium tumefaciens species were used. By the RFLP analysis of the PCR products corresponding to the variable 5'-half of the 23S rRNA gene and of the amplified spacer region between the 16S and 23S rRNA genes all Rh. 'hedysari' strains studied were tightly clustered together while the outgroups were placed in an outer position. The PCR products of the 3' end parts of the 23S rDNA did not show significant RFL polymorphism and no species differentiation on their basis was possible. In parallel, analysis of the same strains was performed by PCR amplification of their total DNA with 19, 18 and 10 bp long arbitrary primers (AP-PCR) as well as with single primers corresponding to several bacterial repetitive sequences (rep-PCR). By both AP and rep-PCR an identification of every particular strain was achieved. In general, all primers provided taxonomic results that are in agreement with the species and group assignments based on the RFLP analysis of the rrn operons. On the basis of the results presented here it can be concluded that AP and rcp-PCR are more informative and discriminative than rDNA and RFLP analysis of the rhizobial strains studied.     

Phenotypic and genotypic diversity of rhizobia nodulating Pterocarpus erinaceus and P. lucens in Senegal

A total of fifty root nodules isolates of fast-growing and slow growing rhizobia from Pterocarpus ennaceus and Pterocarpus lucens respectively native of sudanean and sahelian regions of Senegal were characterized. These isolates were compared to representative strains of known rhizobial species. Twenty-two new isolates were slow growers and twenty-eight were fast growers. A polyphasic approach was performed including comparative total protein sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel (SDS-PAGE) profile analysis; 16S rDNA and 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer (IGS) sequence analysis. By SDS-PAGE the slow growing isolates grouped in one major cluster containing reference strains of Bradyrhizobium sp. including strains isolated in Africa, in Brazil and in New Zealand. Most of the fast-growing rhizobia grouped in four different clusters or were separate strains related to Rhizobium and Mesorhizobium strains. The 16S rDNA and 16S-23S rDNA IGS sequences analysis showed accurately the differentiation of fast growing rhizobia among the Rhizobium and Mesorbizobium genospecies. The representative strains of slow growing rhizobia were identified as closely related to Bradyrbizobium elkanii and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis, one slow growing strain (ORS199) was phylogenetically related to Bradyrbizobium sp. (Lupinus) and Blastobacter denitrificans. This position of ORS 199 was not confirmed by IGS sequence divergence. We found no clear relation between the diversity of strains, the host plants and the ecogeographical origins.     

Discrimination of Rhizobium tropici and R. leguminosarum strains by PCR-specific amplification of 16S-23S rDNA spacer region fragments and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)

With the aim of detecting Rhizobium species directly in the environment, specific PCR primers for Rh. tropici and Rh. leguminosarum were designed on the basis of sequence analysis of 16S-23S rDNA spacer regions of several Rh. tropici, Rh. leguminosarum and Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains. Primer specificity was checked by comparison with available rDNA spacer sequences in databases, and by PCR using DNA from target and reference strains. Sequence polymorphisms of rDNA spacer fragments among strains of the same species were detected by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The specific PCR primers designed in this study could be applied to evaluate the diversity of Rh. tropici and Rh. leguminosarum by analysing the polymorphisms of 16S-23S spacer rDNA amplified from either whole-cell or soil-extracted DNA.     

Rhizobium strains that nodulate Trifolium semipilosum Fres. are phylogenetically distinct

The genetic relationships of Rhizobium isolated from temperate and tropical perennial Trifolium species were investigated using PCR-based nucleotide sequence analysis of 16S and 23S rDNA regions. Comparative analysis of partial 23S rDNA sequences clustered Rhizobium isolates effective with T. semipilosum, T. repens, T. pratense, T. hybridum and T. fragiferum into two distinct groups. These groups were consistent with the pattern of symbiotic effectiveness observed in cross-inoculation experiments. Our data suggested that strains from T. semipilosum were more closely related phylogenetically to R. etli, indicating that these strains do not belong in the R. leguminosarum bv trifolii group. Further differentiation of Rhizobium strains effective on T. semipilosum was reflected in the broader metabolic profile observed using the BIOLOG MicroPlate ^TM system to evaluate carbon utilization. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Genetic diversity of rhizobia isolated from Astragalus adsurgens growing in different geographical regions of China

The genetic diversity among 95 isolates from Astragalus adsurgens was investigated using molecular biological methods. All of the isolates and 24 reference strains could be differentiated by AFLP, REP-, ERIC- and BOX-PCR fingerprinting analysis. By cluster analysis of the data, 31 AFLP and 38 Rep-PCR genomic groups were delineated, indicating considerable genetic diversity among the isolates. Fifty-four representative strains were further analyzed by RFLP of PCR-amplified 16S and 23S rDNA, revealing 26 rDNA genotypes among the isolates. The phylogenetic relationship of the isolates was determined by partial sequencing of 16S rRNA genes of 16 strains. The results suggest that the A. adsurgens rhizobia belong to the genera Agrobacterium, Mesorhizobium, Rhizobium and Sinorhizobium.     

Molecular diversity and phylogeny of rhizobia associated with wild legumes native to Xinjiang, China

A total of 111 rhizobial strains were isolated from wild legumes in Xinjiang, an isolated region of northwest China. Nine genomic species belonging to four genera of Rhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Ensifer, and Bradyrhizobium were defined among these strains based on the characterization of amplified 16S ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacers (IGS), 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA). Twenty-five nodC types corresponding to eight phylogenetic clades were divided by RFLP and sequence analysis of the PCR-amplified nodC gene. The acid-producing Rhizobium and Mesorhizobium species were predominant, which may be related to both the local environments and the hosts sampled. The present study also showed the limitation of using nod genes to estimate the host specificity of rhizobia.     

The variable part of the dnaK gene as an alternative marker for phylogenetic studies of rhizobia and related alpha Proteobacteria

DnaK is the 70 kDa chaperone that prevents protein aggregation and supports the refolding of damaged proteins. Due to sequence conservation and its ubiquity this chaperone has been widely used in phylogenetic studies. In this study, we applied the less conserved part that encodes the so-called alpha-subdomain of the substrate-binding domain of DnaK for phylogenetic analysis of rhizobia and related non-symbiotic alpha-Proteobacteria. A single 330 bp DNA fragment was routinely amplified from DNA templates isolated from the species of the genera, Azorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Rhizobium and Sinorhizobium, but also from some non-symbiotic alpha Proteobacteria such as Blastochloris, Chelatobacter and Chelatococcus. Phylogenetic analyses revealed high congruence between dnaK sequences and 16S rDNA trees, but they were not identical. In contrast, the partition homogeneity tests revealed that dnaK sequence data could be combined with other housekeeping genes such as recA, atpD or glnA. The dnaK trees exhibited good resolution in the cases of the genera Mesorhizobium, Sinorhizobium and Rhizobium, even better than usually shown by 16S rDNA phylogeny. The dnaK phylogeny supported the close phylogenetic relationship of Rhizobium galegae and Agrobacterium tumefaciens (R. radiobacter) C58, which together formed a separate branch within the fast-growing rhizobia, albeit closer to the genus Sinorhizobium. The Rhizobium and Sinorhizobium genera carried an insertion composed of two amino acids, which additionally supported the phylogenetic affinity of these two genera, as well as their distinctness from the Mesorhizobium genus. Consistently with the phylogeny shown by 16S-23S rDNA intergenic region sequences, the dnaK trees divided the genus Bradyrhizobium into three main lineages, corresponding to B. japonicum, B. elkanii, and photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium strains that infect Aeschynomene plants. Our results suggest that the 330 bp dnaK sequences could be used as an additional taxonomic marker for rhizobia and related species (alternatively to the 16S rRNA gene phylogeny).     

Phylogenetic analysis of Leptospira strains of pathogenic serovars using 23S rDNA gene sequences.

The 23S ribosomal DNAs were amplified from 11 strains of Leptospira interrogans sensu lato by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. The PCR products of about 290-bp DNA fragments indicated more than 97% sequence similarity to each other. The phylogenetic tree based on the 23S ribosomal DNAs obtained in this study revealed that 11 strains of L. interrogans examined composed a cluster distinct to that of L. weilii and L. borgpetersenii, confirming that these strains were similar to strain Moulton of L. interrogans serovar canicola in 23S rDNA sequence.     

Characterization, distribution, and localization of ISRl2, and insertion sequence element isolated from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae.

An insertion sequence (IS) element, ISR12, from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae strain MSDJ4184 was isolated by insertional inactivation of the sacRB gene of pSUP104-sac, which allows positive selection. ISRl2 is 932 bp long, is flanked by 17-bp imperfect terminal inverted repeats, and generated a 3-bp target site duplication. ISRl2 was found to be 63 to 77% homologous to insertion elements of the IS5 group of the IS4 superfamily. A probe incorporating a full-length copy of ISRl2 was used to screen genomic DNAs from a collection of strains and from two field populations of R. leguminosarum to detect and estimate the copy numbers of homologous sequences. Among the collection of 63 strains representing the different species and genera of members of the family Rhizobiaceae, homology to ISRl2 was found within strains belonging to Sinorhizobium meliloti and S. fredii; within four of the six recognized Rhizobium species. R. leguminosarum, R. tropici, R. etli, and R. galegae; and within Rhizobium sp. (Phaseolus) genomic species 2. The apparent copy numbers of ISRl2 varied from one to eight. Among 139 isolates of R. leguminosarum from two field populations, homology to ISRl2 was detected in 91% of the isolates from one site and in 17% from the other. Analysis of the 95 isolates that hybridize to ISRl2 revealed a total of 20 distinct hybridization patterns composed of one to three bands. Probing blots of Eckhardt gels showed that sequences with homology to ISRl2 may be found on plasmids or the chromosome. Analysis of their genomic distribution demonstrated relationships and diversity among the R. leguminosarum isolates tested.     

Diversity of 16S rDNA sequences of Rhizobium spp. implications for species determinations

Comparative analysis of 70 16S rDNA sequences representing 20 Rhizobium species (including pathogenic Agrobacterium spp.) was conducted using Maximum Likelihood to establish relationships of species using multiple sequences. There is no significant internal division of the Rhizobium clade to suggest that it represents more than one genus. Plant pathogenic (Agrobacterium) species are distributed within the genus. The analysis supported the synonymy of some species (Rhizobium gallicum and Rhizobium mongolense) and the need for comparative investigations of the tumorigenic and nodulating properties of Rhizobium tropici and Rhizobium rhizogenes. Misidentification of some sequences may conceal one or more putative novel species. Some sequences appear to be misidentified because of faulty sequencing or incomplete or inadequate analysis.     

Characterisation of wild legume nodulating bacteria (LNB) in the infra-arid zone of Tunisia

We report on the isolation and the characterization of nitrogen-fixing root nodule bacteria isolated from natural legumes in a region of South Tunisia corresponding to the infra-arid climatic zone. A collection of 60 new bacterial root nodule isolates were obtained from 19 legume species belonging to the genera Acacia, Anthyllis, Argyrolobium, Astragalus, Calycotome, Coronilla, Ebenus, Genista, Hedysarum, Hippocrepis, Lathyrus, Lotus, Medicago, Ononis. The isolates were characterised by (1) comparative 16S ARDRA using 7 enzymes, (2) total cell protein SDS-PAGE analysis and (3) 16S rDNA sequencing. The results show that these isolates are diverse and belong to the genera Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Mesorhizobium and Bradyrhizobium. Bradyrhizobium were further characterised by 16S-23S rDNA IGS sequencing. Surprisingly strains nodulating Astragalus cruciatus, Lotus creticus and Anthyllis henoniana were identified as Rhizobium galegae, a species recorded only as endosymbiont of Galega officinalis and G. orientalis in northern regions so far.     

黄华属根瘤茵的16S rDNA-RFLP分析

采用16S rDNA-RFLP及序列分析方法,对分离自黄华属的披针叶黄华、喀什黄华和光叶黄华根瘤菌进行分析研究.结果表明,分离得到的33株根瘤菌在种水平上具有丰富的遗传多样性,它们分别归属于中慢生根瘤菌属(Mesorhizobium)、中华根瘤菌属(Sinorhizobium)、根瘤菌属(Rhizobium)和土壤杆菌属(Agrobacterium).其中,以CCNWGS0011和CCNWGS0010-1为代表的5株根瘤菌构成独立的分支,可能为潜在的新种.     

以23S rDNA一个多变区作为分子标记对致病杆菌属细菌进行分类鉴定

【目的】致病杆菌属(Xenorhabdus)细菌是一类重要的生物杀虫剂,斯氏属昆虫病原线虫的共生菌,建立快速准确的分类鉴定方法,对研究开发这类细菌至关重要。【方法】本研究PCR扩增测序了本室保藏的26株,含20种已定名致病杆菌属细菌的一段845 bp的23S rDNA序列,构建了基于这段序列的致病杆菌属系统树并与基于几乎全长16S rDNA序列的相应系统树进行比较,分析了两者作为致病杆菌属细菌分类鉴定分子标记的优缺点。【结果】结果表明,与全长16S rDNA序列相比,所选择的23S rDNA序列片段所含可变位点、简约信息位点比例更高,遗传距离数值跨度大。【结论】上述结果显示该序列片段可用于致病杆菌属细菌进行分类鉴定,特别适用于对野外资源调查中采集到的大量菌株进行快速鉴定。     

Structural analysis and genetic variation of the 16S-23S rDNA internal spacer region from Micrococcus luteus strains

AIMS: To clone and sequence the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal spacer region (ISR) from Micrococcus luteus. METHODS AND RESULTS: The primer pair for 16S-23S rDNA ISR amplified a fragment of about 850 bp in length for two strains, JCM3347 and JCM3348 and a fragment of about 790 bp for a strain, ATCC9341. After sequencing the ISRs were identified by the comparison of the ISRs and the flanking regions of ISR. CONCLUSIONS: Although the sequence difference of the ISR occurred at only one position between the two JCM strains, the highly variable length (440 and 370 bp) and sequence similarity (about 40%) were demonstrated between the ISRs of the two JCM strains and a ATCC strain. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: A CCTCCT sequence was first detected at the 3'-end of the 16S rDNA of the three strains. Moreover, highly similar sequence to the 21-bp region containing a putative rRNA processing site was observed in the ISR of the three strains. Interestingly, no intercistronic tRNAs were demonstrated in the ISRs from the three strains.     

16S和23S rDNA基因序列分析分类鉴定中国衣原体流行株

通过分析比较部分16S/23S rDNA序列,对现有保存的9株国内衣原体流行株进行了分子遗传学鉴定。虽然这些分离株分离自不同的动物,但它们的16S/23S扩增部分完全相同,经16S/23S rDNA序列同源性比较可以一致鉴定国内流行株为鹦鹉热嗜衣原体。     

Differentiation of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua by 16S rRNA genes and intraspecies discrimination of Listeria monocytogenes strains by random amplified polymorphic DNA polymorphisms.

Differences in the 16S rRNA genes (16S rDNA) which can be used to discriminate Listeria monocytogenes from Listeria innocua have been detected. The 16S rDNA were amplified by polymerase chain reaction with a set of oligonucleotide primers which flank a 1.5-kb fragment. Sequence differences were observed in the V2 region of the 16S rDNA both between L. monocytogenes Scott A and L. innocua and between different L. monocytogenes serotypes. Although L. monocytogenes SLCC2371 had the same V2 region sequence as L. innocua, the two species were different within the V9 region at nucleotides 1259 and 1292, in agreement with previous studies (R.-F. Wang, W.-W. Cao, and M.G. Johnson, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 57:3666-3670, 1991). Intraspecies discrimination of L. monocytogenes strains was achieved by using the patterns generated by random amplified polymorphic DNA primers. Although some distinction can be made within the L. monocytogenes species by their 16S rDNA sequence, a far greater discrimination within species could be made by generating random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns from chromosomal DNA. By using a number of 10-bp primers, unique patterns for each isolate which in all cases examined differentiate between various L. monocytogenes serotypes, even though they may have the same 16S rRNA sequences, could be generated.     

西藏根瘤菌新表观群的DNA同源性及16S rDNA全序列分析

在前期数值分类工作的基础上,对7株与Rhizobium关系较密切的分离自西藏部分地区豆科植物Trigonellaspp.和Astragalusspp.的根瘤菌所形成的独立表观群,通过DNA同源性测定及16S rDNA全序列分析进行了分类地位的进一步确定。结果表明:该独立表观群菌株的(G C)mol%为59.5%~63.3%,群内菌株间DNA同源性在74.3%~92.3%之间,中心菌株XZ2-3与相关Rhizobium种之间的DNA同源性在0%~47.4%之间,是不同于Rhizobium内各种的新DNA同源群。另外,16S rDNA全序列分析结果也表明,中心菌株XZ2-3占居Rhizobium系统发育分支中的一个独立亚分支,其与临近R.leguminosarumUSDA2370T和R.etliCFN42T之间的序列相似性分别为96.55%和96.62%。根据国际系统细菌学委员会提出的细菌种属分类标准,该独立表观群构成了一个不同于Rhizobium内各种的新种群。该研究结果丰富了现有根瘤菌分类系统,将为国际上现有Rhizobium的14个种中再增添一个新的分类单元。     

Bradyrhizobium sp. nodulating the Mediterranean shrub Spanish broom (Spartium junceum L.)

AIMS: The molecular diversity of 25 strains of rhizobia, isolated in Sicily from root nodules of the Mediterranean shrubby legume Spanish broom (Spartium junceum L.), is presented in relation to the known rhizobial reference strains. METHODS AND RESULTS: Our approach to the study of the S. junceum rhizobial diversity combined the information given by the 16S and the intergenic spacer (IGS) 16S-23S rDNA polymorphic region by obtaining them in a single polymerase chain reaction (PCR) step. The PCR fragment size of the S. junceum isolates was 2400-2500 bp and that of the reference strains varied from 2400 in Bradyrhizobium strains to 2800 in Sinorhizobium strains. Inter- and intrageneric length variability was found among the reference strains. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) analysis allowed us to identify eight genotypes among the S. junceum rhizobia that were clustered into two groups, both related to the Bradyrhizobium lineage. Sequencing of representative strains of the two clusters confirmed these data. The 16S-IGS PCR-RFLP approach, when applied to rhizobial reference strains, allowed very close species (i.e. Rhizobium leguminosarum/R. tropici) to be separated with any of the three enzymes used; however, cluster analysis revealed inconsistencies with the 16S-based phylogenesis of rhizobia. CONCLUSIONS: Rhizobia nodulating S. junceum in the Mediterranean region belong to the Bradyrhizobium lineage. Our results confirm the resolution power of the 16S-23S rDNA in distinguishing among rhizobia genera and species, as well as the usefulness of the PCR-RFLP method applied to the entire 16S-IGS region for a rapid tracking of the known relatives of new isolates. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The present paper is, to our knowledge, the first report on rhizobia nodulating a Mediterranean wild woody legume.     

Rhizobium tropici, a novel species nodulating Phaseolus vulgaris L. beans and Leucaena sp. trees.

A new Rhizobium species that nodulates Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Leucaena spp. is proposed on the basis of the results of multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, DNA-DNA hybridization, an analysis of ribosomal DNA organization, a sequence analysis of 16S rDNA, and an analysis of phenotypic characteristics. This taxon, Rhizobium tropici sp. nov., was previously named Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli (type II strains) and was recognized by its host range (which includes Leucaena spp.) and nif gene organization. In contrast to R. leguminosarum biovar phaseoli, R. tropici strains tolerate high temperatures and high levels of acidity in culture and are symbiotically more stable. We identified two subgroups within R. tropici and describe them in this paper.