Taxonomic classification of rhizobial strains recommended for soybean and common bean crops in Brazil based on the sequencing of the 16s rRNA gene

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) crops are of economical and social importance in Brazil; their requirement for nitrogen can be supplied by the symbiosis with bacteria belonging to the order Rhizobiales. However, to guarantee the maximization of the biological nitrogen fixation, seeds must be inoculated with efficient and competitive strains of rhizobia recommended by research. In 2001 / 2002, 14 million doses of inoculant were sold in Brazil, 99 % of these for soybean and common bean crops. In this study the taxonomic position of the strains used in commercial inoculants for both crops was evaluated by sequencing the DNA region that carries the information for the 16S rRNA gene. Although variable, it codes enough information to allow a phylogenetic analysis of the bacteria. Sequencing determined that two of the strains recommended for the soybean crop, SEMIA 587 and SEMIA 5019 (= 29 w), belong to the Bradyrhizobium elkanii, while the two other, SEMIA 5079 (=CPAC 15) and SEMIA 5080 (=CPAC 7), belong to the B. japonicum species. Strain SEMIA 4080 (=PRF 81), recommended for common bean crop, was identified as member of the species Rhizobium tropici. The sequences were included in the GenBank database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information.