Does the Miocene-Pliocene relict legume Oxytropis triphylla form nitrogen-fixing nodules with a combination of bacterial strains?

AbstractFour pairs of strains were isolated from four individual root nodules collected from different plants of the Miocene-Pliocene relict legume Oxytropis triphylla growing in the Baikal region (one nodule – one pair of strains). Identification of these strains by the 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that one strain of each pair was fast-growing and phylogenetically closest to the type strains Phyllobacterium endophyticum PEPV15T (98.8–99.5% 16S rDNA similarity) and Phyllobacterium bourgognense STM 201T (98.8–99.3% 16S rDNA similarity). The other strain was slow-growing and closely related to the type strains Bosea vestrisii 34635T and Bosea eneae 34614T (99.5–99.8% 16S rDNA similarity). Results of the atpD gene sequencing suggested that Phyllobacterium-related isolates most probably belong to a new species of Phyllobacterium. It is known that none of the currently described strains of P. endophyticum, P. bourgognense (family Phyllobacteriaceae), B. vestrisii and B. eneae (family Bradyrhizobiaceae) can ...