title: Local genetic structure and worldwide phylogenetic position of symbiotic Rhizobium leguminosarum strains associated with a traditional cultivated crop, Vicia ervilia, from Northern Morocco.
abstract: A total of 212 symbiotic bacteria were isolated from nodules of Vicia ervilia, a traditional crop cultivated in Northern Morocco. The isolates were recovered from 10 different sites, trapped each time with the local cultivar grown in the same field. Four loci were sequenced in order to characterize the isolates, including two housekeeping genes (recA and glnII), one plasmidic symbiotic gene (nodC) and one locus from another plasmid (prL11). In several isolates, two different copies of glnII were detected and sequenced, suggesting a unique duplication event, which has never been reported previously. There was no correlation between the genetic differentiation among cultivars and among bacteria, showing that the evolution of the bacterial population was independent, at least partially, from the host plant. By placing the haplotypes in a wide-ranging phylogenetic reconstruction, it was shown that the diversity detected in Morocco was spread throughout the different clades detected worldwide. The differentiation between areas relied on frequency variations of haplotypes rather than a presence/absence pattern. This finding raises new questions concerning bacterial genetic resource preservation, and confirms the old tenet "everything is everywhere but the environment selects".
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco. Electronic address: lailasbabou@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sbabou
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Assmaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Regragui
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco. Electronic address: filalimaltouf@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Abdelkarim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filali-Maltouf
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Diversité et Conservation des systèmes Biologiques, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan, Morocco. Electronic address: mohammed.ater@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ater
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco. Electronic address: gilles.bena@ird.fr.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Béna
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D020043:Genes, Essential / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D009018:Morocco; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics; D016961:Rhizobium leguminosarum / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D053204:Root Nodules, Plant / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013559:Symbiosis; D031306:Vicia / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D011938:Rec A Recombinases
keywords: Legume; Local adaptation; Population genetics; Recombination; Rhizobium; Symbiosis