Genome sequence of Mesorhizobium mediterraneum strain R31, a nitrogen-fixing rhizobium used as an inoculant for chickpea in Argentina

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Mesorhizobium mediterraneum R31, a rhizobial strain recommended and used as a commercial inoculant for chickpea in Argentina. The genome consists of 7.25 Mb, distributed into four circular replicons: a chromosome of 6.72 Mbp and three plasmids of 0.29, 0.17, and 0.07 Mbp.

Increased protein content of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria under water deficit conditions

BACKGROUND

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a widely cropped pulse and an important source of proteins for humans. In Mediterranean regions it is predicted that drought will reduce soil moisture and become a major issue in agricultural practice. Nitrogen (N)-fixing bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have the potential to improve plant growth and drought tolerance. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of N-fixing bacteria and AM fungi on the growth, grain yield and protein content of chickpea under water deficit.

RESULTS

Plants inoculated with Mesorhizobium mediterraneum or Rhizophagus irregularis without water deficit and inoculated with M. mediterraneum under moderate water deficit had significant increases in biomass. Inoculation with microbial symbionts brought no benefits to chickpea under severe water deficit. However, under moderate water deficit grain crude protein was increased by 13%, 17% and 22% in plants inoculated with M. mediterraneum, R. irregularis and M. mediterraneum + R. irregularis, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Inoculation with N-fixing bacteria and AM fungi has the potential to benefit agricultural production of chickpea under water deficit conditions and to contribute to increased grain protein content. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of nodules of two Mesorhizobium-chickpea associations with differential symbiotic efficiency under phosphate deficiency

Phosphate (Pi) deficiency is known to be a major limitation for symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF), and hence legume crop productivity globally. However, very little information is available on the adaptive mechanisms, particularly in the important legume crop chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), which enable nodules to respond to low-Pi availability. Thus, to elucidate these mechanisms in chickpea nodules at molecular level, we used an RNA sequencing approach to investigate transcriptomes of the nodules in Mesorhizobium mediterraneum SWRI9-(MmSWRI9)-chickpea and M. ciceri CP-31-(McCP-31)-chickpea associations under Pi-sufficient and Pi-deficient conditions, of which the McCP-31-chickpea association has a better SNF capacity than the MmSWRI9-chickpea association during Pi starvation. Our investigation revealed that more genes showed altered expression patterns in MmSWRI9-induced nodules than in McCP-31-induced nodules (540 vs. 225) under Pi deficiency, suggesting that the Pi-starvation-more-sensitive MmSWRI9-induced nodules required expression change in a larger number of genes to cope with low-Pi stress than the Pi-starvation-less-sensitive McCP-31-induced nodules. The functional classification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was examined to gain an understanding of how chickpea nodules respond to Pi starvation, caused by soil Pi deficiency. As a result, more DEGs involved in nodulation, detoxification, nutrient/ion transport, transcriptional factors, key metabolic pathways, Pi remobilization and signalling were found in Pi-starved MmSWRI9-induced nodules than in Pi-starved McCP-31-induced nodules. Our findings have enabled the identification of molecular processes that play important roles in the acclimation of nodules to Pi deficiency, ultimately leading to the development of Pi-efficient chickpea symbiotic associations suitable for Pi-deficient soils.

Genotypic alteration and competitive nodulation of Mesorhizobium muleiense against exotic chickpea rhizobia in alkaline soils

Mesorhizobium muleiense, Mesorhizobium mediterraneum and Mesorhizobium ciceri are chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) rhizobia that share a high similarity of the symbiotic genes nodC and nifH, but they have different geographic distributions. M. muleiense has been isolated and found only in alkaline soils of Xinjiang, China, whereas the other two strains have been found in the Mediterranean and India. To investigate the species stability of M. muleiense during natural evolution and its capability of competitive nodulation against the other two exotic species, re-sampling of nodules in the field and competition experiments between the three species were conducted. The results showed that the predominant microsymbiont associated with chickpea grown in Xinjiang was still M. muleiense, but the predominant genotypes of M. muleiense had changed significantly during the four years since a previous survey. The data also showed that M. mediterraneum and M. ciceri were more competitive than the residential strain of M. muleiense CCBAU 83963(T) in sterilized vermiculite or soils from Xinjiang. However, in non-sterilized soils, M. muleiense was the predominant nodule occupier. These results indicated that natural or adapting evolution of M. muleiense was occurring in fields subjected to changing environmental factors. In addition, the biogeography and symbiotic associations of rhizobia with their host legumes were also influenced by biological factors in the soil, such as indigenous rhizobia and other organisms.