Morphology of root nodules and nodule-like structures formed by Rhizobium and Agrobacterium strains containing a Rhizobium meliloti megaplasmid.

We examined expression of the megaplasmid pRme41b of Rhizobium meliloti in two different Rhizobium sp. Strains and in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Transfer of pRme41b into these bacteria was facilitated by insertion of a recombinant plasmid coding for mobilization functions of RP4 into the nif region (Kondorosi, A., E. Kondorosi, C.E. Pankhurst, W. J. Broughton, and Z. Banfalvi, 1982, Mol. Gen. Genet., 188:433-439). In all cases, transconjugants formed nodule-like structures on the roots of Medicago sativa. These structures were largely composed of meristematic cells but they were not invaded by bacteria. Bacteria were found only within infection threads in root hairs, and within intercellular spaces of the outermost cells of the structures. The donor strain of R. meliloti containing pAK11 or pAK12 in pRme41b initially produced nodules on M. sativa that did not fix nitrogen (Fix-). In these nodules, bacteria were released from infection threads into the host cells but they did not multiply appreciably. Any bacteroids formed degenerated prematurely. In some cases, however, reversion to a Fix+ phenotype occurred after 4 to 6 wk. Bacteria released into newly infected cells in these nodules showed normal development into bacteriods.

Novel and complex chromosomal arrangement of Rhizobium loti nodulation genes.

A mutational and structural analysis of Rhizobium loti nodulation genes in strains NZP2037 and NZP2213 was carried out. Unlike the case with other Rhizobium strains examined to date, nodB was found on an operon separate from nodACIJ. Sequence analysis of the nodACIJ and nodB operon regions confirm that R. loti common nod genes have a gene organization different from that of other Rhizobium spp. At least 4 copies of nodD-like sequences were identified in R. loti. The complete nucleotide sequence of one of these, nodD3, was determined. A new host-specific nod gene, nolL, was identified adjacent to nodD3. NolL shares homology with NodX and other O-acetyl transferases. Mutational analysis of the nod regions of strains NZP2037 and NZP2213 showed that nodD3, nodI, nodJ, and nolL were all essential for R. loti strains to effectively nodulate the extended host Lotus pedunculatus, but were not necessary for effective nodulation of the less restrictive host, Lotus corniculatus. Both nodD3 and nolL were essential for R. loti strains to nodulate Leucaena leucocephala.

Some antigenic properties of cultured cell and bacteroid forms of fast- and slow-growing strains of Lotus rhizobia.

Immunodiffusion cross-reactions of 62 fast- and 76 slow-growing of Lotus rhizobia with antisera to four of the fast-growing and five of the slow-growing strains were studied. No sharing of antigens by both fast- and slow-growing strains was found. Somatic antigens were very strain specific with only eight of the fast-growing and five of the slow-growing strains tested having somatic antigens identical to those of one or more of the strains of the same group used for antisera production. In contrast, internal antigens were shared by all fast-growing strains and with seven exceptions by all slow-growing strains. Antigens of cultured rhizobia, and bacteroids from nodules formed on different legumes by the same strain of Rhizobium, were similar. However, incontrast to cultured cells, bacteroids generally required no pretreatment (heat or ultrasonic disruption) to give a strong somatic antigen reaction in immunodiffusions.

The Flavin Content of Clovers Relative to Symbiosis with a Riboflavin-requiring Mutant of Rhizobium trifoli.

A riboflavin-requiring auxotroph of Rhizobium trifolii (T1/D-his(r)-15) formed ineffective root nodules on red clover and on two cultivars of subterranean clover, but produced almost fully effective nodules on several other cultivars of subterranean clover. Fluorescence and bioassay measurements of the flavin content of the roots and shoots of these cultivars revealed no differences between cultivars which could be correlated with the differences in symbiotic response. The concentration of flavin in nodules formed by the auxotroph (in the absence of riboflavin), by the effective parent strain (T1), or by a partly effective mutant (penicillin-resistant) of T1 was roughly proportional to the effectiveness of the nodules. Effective nodules contained 20 times as much flavin, and ineffective nodules 3 to 4 times as much flavin as non-nodulated root tissue. Approximately 20 to 30% of the flavins in both root and nodule tissue was flavin adenine dinucleotide and 70 to 80% was riboflavin + flavin mononucleotide. Most of the flavin adenine dinucleotide in macerated nodules was associated with host cell fragments, and none was detected in a cell-free fraction. Bacteroids accounted for approximately 20% of flavins in effective nodules and also contained more riboflavin + flavin mononucleotide than cultured rhizobial cells. The total flavin content of noninoculated roots increased from about 1.2 nmoles to 1.7 nmoles flavin/g of tissue after 3 days' exposure to 80 mum riboflavin. Exposure of only the upper or lower portion of preinoculated roots indicated negligible translocation, as effective nodulation occurred only on parts of the root in direct contact with riboflavin. Plants grown in a medium containing combined nitrogen (100 or 300 mum nitrogen added as (NH(4))(2)SO(4)), but no added riboflavin showed an increased root flavin content (about 2.1 nmoles flavin/g tissue) and a partly effective response when inoculated with the mutant. Nitrogen also promoted some upward translocation of exogenous riboflavin in the roots.

Symbiotic effectiveness of antibiotic-resistant mutants of fast- and slow-growing strains of Rhizobium nodulating Lotus species.

Mutants resistant ot 16 individual antibiotics were isolated from two fast-growing and two slow-growing strains of Lotus rhizobia and their symbiotic effectiveness on Lotus pedunculatus evaluated. Resistance to streptomycin, spectinomycin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline (inhibitors of protein synthesis) was associated with little or no loss of effectiveness with all four strains but resistance to nalidixic acid and rifampicin (inhibitors of nucleic acid synthesis), and to D-cycloserine, novobiocin, and penicillin (inhibitors of cell wall-cell membrane synthesis) was associated with significant loss of effectiveness in 20-100% of the mutants. Resistance to viomycin, neomycin, kanamycin, and vibramycin was associated with loss of effectiveness with mutants of the two fast-growing strains but not with mutants of the two slow-growing strains. When tested on four alternate host legumes individual mutants of a slow-growing strain showed significantly different levels of effectiveness. The results suggest that both the inherent characteristics of the bacterium and of the host plant will influence the symbiotic effectiveness of antibiotic-resistant mutants of Rhizobium.

Sensitivity of Rhizobium to selected isoflavonoids.

Eleven isoflavonoids were tested in both soft agar and liquid media for inhibitory activity against eight Rhizobium strains. Results of the two bioassays showed that pisatin, coumestriol, biochanin A, formononetin, genistein, rotenon, and vestitol lacked significant inhibitory activity. Phaseolin and maackiain were moderately inhibitory (ED50 (mean effective dose) = 30-100 microgram/mL), and medicarpin and kievitone were strongly inhibitory (ED50 = 10-60 microgram/mL) towards slow-growing R. japonicum and R. lupini and also towards two fast-growing Lotus rhizobia. In contrast, R. trifolii, R. leguminosarum, and R. phaseoli were not affected by these compounds ED50 greater than 100 microgram/mL), and R. meliloti was inhibited only by kievitone (ED50 = 30-60 microgram/mL). At a concentration of 100 microgram/mL, medicarpin and kievitone were found to be bactericidal to R. japonicum, R. lupini, and the fast-growing Lotus rhizobia.

Nitrogenase activity of Rhizobium sp. strains in pure culture in relation to extracellular polysaccharide composition and antigenic affinity.

Five strains of slow-growing Rhizobium sp. (strains CB756, 32HI, CB562, CB627 and QA549) out of seventy examined developed appreciable nitrogenase activity in pure culture. CB756 and 32HI were serologically indistinguishable and each produced 6-deoxy-L-talose as a major component of its extracellular polysaccharide. They did not share these properties with CB562, CB627 or QA549.

Transfer of an indigenous plasmid of Rhizobium loti to other rhizobia and Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Rhizobium loti strains NZP2037 and NZP2213 were each found to contain a single large plasmid: pRlo2037a (240 MDal) and pRlo2213a (120 MDal), respectively. Plasmid DNA present in crude cell lysates of each strain and purified pRlo2037a DNA did not hybridize with pID1, a recombinant plasmid containing part of the nitrogen fixation (nif) region of R. meliloti, indicating that nif genes were not present on these plasmids. The transposon Tn5 was inserted into pRlo2037a and this plasmid was then transferred into R. leguminosarum, R. meliloti and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. All transconjugants failed to nodulate Lotus pedunculatus, suggesting that the ability to nodulate this legume was also not carried on pRlo2037a. Transfer of pRlo2037a to R. loti strain NZP2213 did not alter the Nod+ Fix- phenotype of this strain for L. pedunculatus. Determinants for flavolan resistance, believed to be necessary for effective nodulation of L. pedunculatus, were not carried on pRlo2037a. These data suggest that nodulation, nitrogen fixation and flavolan resistance genes are not present on the large plasmid in R. loti strain NZP2037.

Mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA-based phylogeny of Pelargonium (Geraniaceae).

Overall phylogenetic relationships within the genus Pelargonium (Geraniaceae) were inferred based on DNA sequences from mitochondrial(mt)-encoded nad1 b/c exons and from chloroplast(cp)-encoded trnL (UAA) 5' exon-trnF (GAA) exon regions using two species of Geranium and Sarcocaulon vanderetiae as outgroups. The group II intron between nad1 exons b and c was found to be absent from the Pelargonium, Geranium, and Sarcocaulon sequences presented here as well as from Erodium, which is the first recorded loss of this intron in angiosperms. Separate phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA and cpDNA data sets produced largely congruent topologies, indicating linkage between mitochondrial and chloroplast genome inheritance. Simultaneous analysis of the combined data sets yielded a well-resolved topology with high clade support exhibiting a basic split into small and large chromosome species, the first group containing two lineages and the latter three. One large chromosome lineage (x = 11) comprises species from sections Myrrhidium and Chorisma and is sister to a lineage comprising P. mutans (x = 11) and species from section Jenkinsonia (x = 9). Sister to these two lineages is a lineage comprising species from sections Ciconium (x = 9) and Subsucculentia (x = 10). Cladistic evaluation of this pattern suggests that x = 11 is the ancestral basic chromosome number for the genus.

Plasmid-linked nif and "nod" genes in fast-growing rhizobia that nodulate Glycine max, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, and Vigna unguiculata.

Forty-nine fast-growing Rhizobium strains from the nodules of 26 different tropical legume genera were screened to find isolates that would (i) nodulate, e.g., winged beans, so producing large nodules for RNA and protein isolation; (ii) also nodulate various small-seeded legumes, thus allowing screening of large numbers of mutants; and (iii) harbor plasmids containing nif structural genes as well as other functions involved in nodulation. On the basis of six different criteria, this rhizobial group appeared intermediate between classical fast- and slow-growing organisms, yet all contained plasmids. Plasmid numbers varied from one to five. Hybridizations between DNA prepared from nifDH and the putatative "nod" region of R. meliloti and these plasmids bound to nitrocellulose filters suggested that nif-nod genes are linked on a single sym plasmid. A broad-host-range strain containing a single sym plasmid was chosen for further study. Its plasmid, pMPIK3030a, was isolated on cesium chloride gradients and cloned in the cosmid pJB8, and the overlapping fragments were mapped by homology with the nif and nod regions of R. meliloti. As the wild-type plasmid pMPIK3030a was not self-transmissible, confirmation that the nod genes detected by homology were responsible for nodulation was obtained by introducing the mobilization functions of RP(4) (together with Tn5) and selecting transconjugants resistant to kanamycin and neomycin. Transconjugants (obtained at a frequency of about 10(-6) per recipient) in Agrobacterium tumefaciens cured of the Ti plasmid produced ineffective nodules on Vigna unguiculata, those in nonnodulating (Nod(-)) R. meliloti were partially effective, while those in Nod(-)R. leguminosarum were often fully effective.

Isolation and characterization of transposon Tn5-induced symbiotic mutants of Rhizobium loti.

Rhizobium loti NZP2037 and NZP2213, each cured of its single large indigenous plasmid, formed effective nodules on Lotus spp., suggesting that the symbiotic genes are carried on the chromosome of these strains. By using pSUP1011 as a vector for introducing transposon Tn5 into R. loti NZP2037, symbiotic mutants blocked in hair curling (Hac), nodule initiation (Noi), bacterial release (Bar), and nitrogen fixation (Nif/Cof) on Lotus pedunculatus were isolated. Cosmids complementing the Hac, Noi, and Bar mutants were isolated from a pLAFR1 gene library of NZP2037 DNA by in planta complementation and found to contain EcoRI fragments of identical sizes to those into which Tn5 had inserted in the mutants. The cosmids that complemented the mutants of these phenotypic classes did not share common fragments, nor did cosmids that complemented four mutants within the Noi class, suggesting that these symbiotically important regions are not tightly linked on the R. loti chromosome.