Summary
An ineffective strain of Rhizobium trifolii, T24, produced an antibiotic active against other strains from several species of Rhizobium. The antibiotic was relatively stable to heat treatment below 90° C but was irreversibly inactivated by low pH and by unidentified microbial contaminants. Activity was readily destroyed by papain but not by trypsin, chymotrypsin, lysozyme, α-amylase, ribonuclease or deoxyribonuclease. The molecular weight of the active substance was estimated by gel filtration and dialysis procedures to be within the range of 1000 to 2000, probably at the lower end of this range. Growth inhibition of sensitive rhizobia appeared to occur mainly by bacteriostasis, and inhibition was reversible by some basic metabolites. Effective nodulation of clover seedlings by antibiotic-sensitive strains of R. trifolii was strongly suppressed by mixed inocula including T24. Predominance of ineffective symbiosis was apparently due to competitive advantage associated with antibiosis.
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Schwinghamer, E.A., Belkengren, R.P. Inhibition of rhizobia by a strain of Rhizobium trifolii: Some properties of the antibiotic and of the strain. Archiv. Mikrobiol. 64, 130–145 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406972
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406972