title: Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) nodulates with genotypically and phenotypically diverse rhizobia in Ethiopian soils.
abstract: Forty-eight lentil-nodulating rhizobia were isolated from soil samples collected from diverse agro-ecological locations in Ethiopia, and characterized based on 76 phenotypic traits. Furthermore, 26 representative strains were selected and characterized using multilocus sequence analyses (MLSA) of core (16S rRNA, recA, atpD, glnII and gyrB) and symbiotic (nodA and nifH) genes. Numerical analysis of phenotypic characteristics showed that the 48 test strains fell into three major distinct clusters. The phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA genes showed that they belong to the Rhizobium genus. Our phylogenetic reconstruction based on combined gene trees (recA, atpD and glnII) supported three distinct sub-lineages (Clades I-III). While genospecies I and II could be classified with Rhizobium etli and Rhizobium leguminosarum, respectively, genospecies III, might be an unnamed genospecies within the genus Rhizobium. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on the symbiosis-related genes supported a single cluster, indicating differences in the evolutionary histories between chromosomal and symbiotic genes. Overall, these results confirmed the presence of a great diversity of lentil-nodulating Rhizobium species in Ethiopia, inviting further exploration. Moreover, the differences in symbiotic effectiveness of the test strains indicated the potential for selecting and using them as inoculants to improve the productivity of lentil in the country.
authors.affiliation: Debreberhan University, Department of Plant Science, P.O. Box 445, Debreberhan, Ethiopia. Electronic address: wondtena@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Wondwosen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tena
authors.affiliation: International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Endalkachew
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wolde-Meskel
authors.affiliation: Hawassa University, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 05, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Tulu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Degefu
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, S7N 5A8, Canada.
authors.forename: Fran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Walley
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D044822:Biodiversity; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005002:Ethiopia; D020043:Genes, Essential; D027806:Lens Plant / Q000382:microbiology*; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D055170:Plant Root Nodulation; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C029130:nitrogenase reductase; D000217:Acyltransferases; C060770:NodA protein, Rhizobiales
keywords: MLSA; Phylogeny; Rhizobium; Symbiotic genes