Abstract
Seventy-six rhizobial isolates belonging to four different genera were obtained from the root nodules of several legumes (Vicia sativa, Vicia faba, Medicago sativa, Melilotus sp., Glycine max and Lotus corniculatus). The action of five commonly used herbicides [2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), glyphosate (GF), dicamba, atrazine and metsulfuron-methyl] on the growth of rhizobial strains was assessed. Subsequently, GF and 2,4-D were tested in a minimum broth as C and energy sources for 20 tolerant strains. The ability of these strains to metabolize different carbon sources was studied in order to detect further differences among them. Tolerance of the bacteria to agrochemicals varied; 2,4-D and GF in solid medium inhibited and diminished growth, respectively, in slow-growing rhizobial strains. Among slow-growing strains we detected Bradyrhizobium sp. SJ140 that grew well in broth + GF as the sole C and energy source. No strain was found which could use 2,4-D as sole C source. The 20 strains studied exhibited different patterns of C sources utilization. Cluster analysis revealed three groups, corresponding to four genera of rhizobia: Rhizobium (group I), Sinorhizobium (group II) and Mesorhizobium–Bradyrhizobium (group III). On the basis of the results obtained on responses to herbicides and C sources utilization by the isolates investigated, it was possible to differentiate them at the level of strains. These results evidenced a considerable diversity in rhizobial populations that had not been previously described for Argentinean soils, and suggested a physiological potential to use natural and xenobiotic C sources.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander M (1980) Introducción a la microbiología del suelo. AGT Editor, México
Bergersen FJ (1961) The growth of Rhizobium in synthetic media. Aust J Biol Sci 14:349–360
Bertonatti C, Corcuera J (2000) Situación ambiental Argentina 2000. Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Buenos Aires
Bouquard C, Ouzzani J, Promé J-C, Michael-Briand Y, Plésiat P (1997) Dechlorination of atrazine by a Rhizobium sp. isolate. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:862–866
Burkart A (1952) Loteas. In: Las leguminosas argentinas. Acme, Buenos Aires, pp 280–283
Chakrabarti S, Lee MS, Gibson AH (1981) Diversity in the nutritional requirements of strains of various Rhizobium species. Soil Biol Biochem 13:349–354
Dinelli G, Vicari A, Acinelli C (1998) Degradation and side effects of three sulfonylurea herbicides in soil. J Environ Qual 27:1459–1464
Eberbach PL, Douglas LA (1983) Persistence of glyphosate in a sandy loam. Soil Biol Biochem 15:485–487
Faizah AW, Broughton WJ, John CK (1980) Rhizobia in tropical legumes—XI. Survival in the seed environment. Soil Biol Biochem 12:219–227
Fulchieri MM, Estrella MJ, Iglesias AA (1999) Characterization of Rhizobium loti strains native from the Salado River Basin. Studies on symbiotic potential. In: The 2nd International Lotus Symposium, St. Louis, MO, USA in conjunction with the XIV International Botanical Congress. http://www.psu.missouri.edu/lnl/v30/ Fulchieri.htm
Hintze J (2001) NCSS and PASS number cruncher statistical systems. Kaysville, UT. http://www.ncss.com/download.html
Holt JG, Krieg NR, Sneath PHA, Staley JT, Williams ST (1994) Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore
Jordan DC (1984) Gram-negative aerobic rods and cocci. Family III Rhizobiaceae Conn 1938. In: Krieg N, Holt JG (eds) Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, pp 234–244
Kamagata Y, Fulthorpe RR, Tamura K, Takami H, Forney LJ, Tiedje JM (1997) Pristine environments harbor a new group of oligotrophic 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-degrading bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:2266–2272
Kennedy AC (1994) Carbon utilization and fatty acid profiles for characterization of bacteria. In: Weaver RW, Angle S, Bottomley P (eds) Methods of soil analysis, Part 2. Microbiological and biochemical properties. Soil Sciences Society of America, Madison, pp 543–556
Kennedy AC, Smith KD (1995) Soil microbial diversity and the sustainability of agricultural soils. Plant Soil 170:75–86
Liu C-M, McLean PA, Sookdeo CC, Cannon FC (1991) Degradation of the herbicide glyphosate by members of the family Rhizobiaceae. Appl Environ Microbiol 57:1799–1804
Martínez-Romero E, Caballero-Mellado J (1996) Rhizobium phylogenies and bacterial genetic diversity. Crit Rev Plant Sci 15:113–140
McInroy SG, Campbell CD, Haukka KE, Odee DW, Sprent JI, Wang W-J, Young JPW, Sutherland JM (1999) Characterisation of rhizobia from African acacias and other tropical woody legumes using Biolog and partial 16S rRNA sequencing. FEMS Microbiol Lett 170:111–117
Paffetti D, Scotti C, Gnocchi S, Fancelli S, Bazzicalupo M (1996) Genetic diversity of an Italian Rhizobium meliloti population from different Medicago sativa varieties. Appl Environ Microbiol 62:2279–2285
Palmer KM, Young JPW (2000) Higher diversity of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae populations in arable soils than in grass soils. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:2445–2450
Pipke R, Amrhein N (1988) Isolation and characterization of a mutant of Arthrobacter sp. strain GLP-1 which utilizes the herbicide glyphosate as its sole source of phosphorus and nitrogen. Appl Environ Microbiol 54:2868–2870
Sadowsky MJ, Graham PH (1998) Soil biology of the Rhizobiaceae. In: Spaink HP, Kondorosi A, Hooykaas PJJ (eds) The Rhizobiaceae. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 155–172
Saito A, Mitsui H, Hattori R, Minamisawa K, Hattori T (1998) Slow-growing and oligotrophic soil bacteria phylogenetically close to Bradyrhizobium japonicum. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 25:277–286
Swelim DM, Hashem FM, Kuykendall LD, Hegazi NI, Abdel-Wahab SM (1997) Host specificity and phenotypic diversity of Rhizobium strains nodulating Leucaena, Acacia, and Sesbania in Egypt. Biol Fertil Soils 25:224–232
Ulrich A, Zaspel I (2000) Phylogenetic diversity of rhizobial strains nodulating Robinia pseudoacacia L. Microbiology 146:2997–3005
Velázquez E, Igual JM, Willems A, Fernández MP, Muñoz E, Mateos PF, Abril A, Toro N, Normand P, Cervantes E, Gillis M, Martínez-Molina E (2001) Mesorhizobium chacoense sp. nov., a novel species that nodulates Prosopis alba in the Chaco Arido region (Argentina). Int J Syst Bacteriol 51:1011–1021
Vincent JM (1970) A manual for the study of the root-nodule bacteria. I.B.P. Handbook No. 15. Blackwell, Oxford
Wagner SC, Skipper HD, Hartel PG (1995) Medium to study carbon utilization by Bradyrhizobium strains. Can J Microbiol 41:633–636
Werner D (1992) Symbiosis of plant and microbes. Chapman and Hall, London
Zablotowicz RM, Reddy KN (2004) Impact of glyphosate on the Bradyrhizobium japonicum symbiosis with glyphosate-resistant transgenic soybean: a minireview. J Environ Qual 33:825–831
Zahran HH (2001) Rhizobia from wild legumes: diversity, taxonomy, ecology, nitrogen fixation and biotechnology. J Biotechnol 91:143–153
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Norman Peinemann for giving permission to use laboratory equipment, and the Secretaría General de Ciencia y Tecnología of Universidad Nacional del Sur (SGCyT-UNS) for the scholarship for post-graduate study granted to M.C. Zabaloy.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zabaloy, M.C., Gómez, M.A. Diversity of rhizobia isolated from an agricultural soil in Argentina based on carbon utilization and effects of herbicides on growth. Biol Fertil Soils 42, 83–88 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0012-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0012-2