Pairwise comparisons of
Genista tinctoria (dyer’s weed) rhizobium
nodA, nodC, and
nodZ gene sequences to those available in databanks revealed their highest sequence identities to nodulation loci of
Bradyrhizobium sp. (
Lupinus) strains and rhizobia from other genistoid legumes. On phylogenetic trees, genistoid microsymbionts were grouped together in monophyletic clusters, which suggested that their nodulation genes evolved from a common ancestor.
G. tinctoria nodulators formed symbioses not only with the native host, but also with other plants of Genisteae tribe such as:
Lupinus luteus, Sarothamnus scoparius, and
Chamaecytisus ratisbonensis, and they were classified as the genistoid cross-inoculation group. The dyer’s weed root nodules were designated as indeterminate with apical meristem consisting of infected and uninfected cells.
Keywords Phylogeny of symbiotic genes -
Genista tinctoria bradyrhizobia - Nodule structure - Symbiotic properties
The GenBank accession numbers for the sequences reported in this paper are as follows: nodC, DQ139776–DQ139781; nodA, DQ135897, Q135898; nodZ, DQ135899–DQ135903.