Plasmids and symbiotic effectiveness of representative phage types from two indigenous populations of Rhizobium meliloti

Plant Research Centre, Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6 ABSTRACT SUMMARY: Phage types representative of the population of indigenous Rhizobium meliloti at each of two sites were evaluated for plasmid content by agarose gel electrophoresis and for symbiotic effecti...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of general microbiology Vol. 133; no. 12; pp. 3457 - 3466
Main Authors:	Bromfield, E.S.P, Thurman, N.P, Whitwill, S.T, Barran, L.R
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Soc General Microbiol 01-12-1987 New York, NY Cambridge University Press
Subjects:	Bacteriological methods and techniques used in bacteriology Bacteriology bacteriophages Biological and medical sciences Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Medicago sativa Microbiology nodulation phage typing plasmids Rhizobium meliloti Sinorhizobium meliloti symbiosis Virus Plasmid Symbiosis Rhizobium meliloti Typing Efficiency Gel electrophoresis Analysis Classification Bacteria Bactériophage Rhizobiaceae
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Plant Research Centre, Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6 ABSTRACT SUMMARY: Phage types representative of the population of indigenous Rhizobium meliloti at each of two sites were evaluated for plasmid content by agarose gel electrophoresis and for symbiotic effectiveness with Medicago sativa cv. Saranac. Relative to four strains used commercially, 55 and 65 phage types representing these populations showed a high average level of symbiotic effectiveness; only a single type from one site was relatively ineffective in symbiosis. On the basis of plasmid number and molecular mass, 160 isolates comprising 45 and 48 types from both sites were placed in 22 different groups with 17 and 13 groups from the respective sites. The number of plasmids varied between one and five per isolate with molecular masses ranging from 5 MDa to considerably greater than 267 MDa. Only five isolates lacked a plasmid with mobility in agarose gels corresponding to that of a reference megaplasmid but instead showed a band of lesser mobility and therefore greater molecular mass. Phage types, which were divided into plasmid groups solely on the basis of differences between isolates from each site, may reflect adaptation of R. meliloti to their respective sites. Differences between isolates within certain phage types due to the presence or absence of a single plasmid may have resulted from genetic interchange between indigenous R. meliloti. There was no significant correlation between plasmid number or mass and symbiotic effectiveness or phage sensitivity of the phage types from either site.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0022-1287 1350-0872 1465-2080
DOI:	10.1099/00221287-133-12-3457