Ecological adaptation and phylogenetic analysis of microsymbionts nodulating Polhillia, Wiborgia and Wiborgiella species in the Cape fynbos, South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Polhillia, Wiborgia and Wiborgiella species are shrub legumes endemic to the Cape fynbos of South Africa. They have the ability to fix atmospheric N₂ when in symbiosis with soil bacteria called 'rhizobia'. The aim of this study was to assess the morpho-physiological and phylogenetic characteristics of rhizobia associated with the nodulation of Polhillia, Wiborgia and Wiborgiella species growing in the Cape fynbos. The bacterial isolates from root nodules consisted of a mixture of fast and intermediate growers that differed in colony shape and size. The isolates exhibited tolerance to salinity (0.5-3% NaCl) and pH (pH 5-10) and different antibiotic concentrations, and could produce 0.51 to 51.23 µg mL^-1 of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), as well as solubilize tri-calcium p

SUBMITTER: Mpai T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8654865 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature