RESUMO
Root-nodule bacteria were isolated from Inga laurina (Sw.) Willd. growing in the Cerrado Amazon region, State of Roraima, Brazil. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of six strains (BR 10250(T), BR 10248, BR 10249, BR 10251, BR 10252 and BR 10253) showed low similarities with currently described species of the genus Bradyrhizobium. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences of five housekeeping genes (dnaK, glnII, gyrB, recA and rpoB) revealed Bradyrhizobium iriomotense EK05(T) to be the closest type strain (97.4% sequence similarity or less). Chemotaxonomic data, including fatty acid profiles [with the major components C16:0 and summed feature 8 (C18:1ω6c/C18:1ω7c)], the slow growth rate and carbon compound utilization patterns supported the assignment of our strains to the genus Bradyrhizobium. Results from DNA-DNA hybridizations and physiological traits differentiated our strains from the closest related species of the genus Bradyrhizobium with validly published names. Sequences of symbiosis-related genes for nodulation (nodC) and nitrogen fixation (nifH) grouped together with those of B. iriomotense EK05(T) and Bradyrhizobium sp. strains BR 6610 (used as a commercial inoculant for Inga marginata in Brazil) and TUXTLAS-10 (previously observed in Central America). Based on these data, the six strains represent a novel species, for which the name Bradyrhizobium ingae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BR 10250(T) ( = HAMBI 3600(T)).