ABSTRACT
Bacteria currently included in Rhizobium leguminosarum are too diverse to be considered a single species, so we can refer to this as a species complex (the Rlc). We have found 429 publicly available genome sequences that fall within the Rlc and these show that the Rlc is a distinct entity, well separated from other species in the genus. Its sister taxon is R. anhuiense. We constructed a phylogeny based on concatenated sequences of 120 universal (core) genes, and calculated pairwise average nucleotide identity (ANI) between all genomes. From these analyses, we concluded that the Rlc includes 18 distinct genospecies, plus 7 unique strains that are not placed in these genospecies. Each genospecies is separated by a distinct gap in ANI values, usually at approximately 96% ANI, implying that it is a 'natural' unit. Five of the genospecies include the type strains of named species: R. laguerreae, R. sophorae, R. ruizarguesonis, "R. indicum" and R. leguminosarum itself. The 16S ribosomal RNA sequence is remarkably diverse within the Rlc, but does not distinguish the genospecies. Partial sequences of housekeeping genes, which have frequently been used to characterize isolate collections, can mostly be assigned unambiguously to a genospecies, but alleles within a genospecies do not always form a clade, so single genes are not a reliable guide to the true phylogeny of the strains. We conclude that access to a large number of genome sequences is a powerful tool for characterizing the diversity of bacteria, and that taxonomic conclusions should be based on all available genome sequences, not just those of type strains.
Subject(s)
DNA, Bacterial/genetics , Genome, Bacterial , Phylogeny , Rhizobium leguminosarum/classification , Rhizobium leguminosarum/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
Rhizobial strains isolated from effective root nodules of field-grown lentil (Lens culinaris) from different parts of Bangladesh were previously analysed using sequences of the 16S rRNA gene, three housekeeping genes (recA, atpD and glnII) and three nodulation genes (nodA, nodC and nodD), DNA fingerprinting and phenotypic characterization. Analysis of housekeeping gene sequences and DNA fingerprints indicated that the strains belonged to three novel clades in the genus Rhizobium. In present study, a representative strain from each clade was further characterized by determination of cellular fatty acid compositions, carbon substrate utilization patterns and DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity (ANI) analyses from whole-genome sequences. DNA-DNA hybridization showed 50-62% relatedness to their closest relatives (the type strains of Rhizobium etli and Rhizobium phaseoli) and 50-60% relatedness to each other. These results were further supported by ANI values, based on genome sequencing, which were 87-92% with their close relatives and 88-89% with each other. On the basis of these results, three novel species, Rhizobium lentis sp. nov. (type strain BLR27(T) = LMG 28441(T) = DSM 29286(T)), Rhizobium bangladeshense sp. nov. (type strain BLR175(T) = LMG 28442(T) = DSM 29287(T)) and Rhizobium binae sp. nov. (type strain BLR195(T) = LMG 28443(T) = DSM 29288(T)), are proposed. These species share common nodulation genes (nodA, nodC and nodD) that are similar to those of the symbiovar viciae.
