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Aims: The aim of the study was to survey rhizobial biogeography and to inoculate soybean with selected rhizobia in China to enhance symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF)., Methods and Results: Biogeography, genetic diversity and phylogeny of soybean rhizobia were surveyed. Inocula were prepared and applied to soybean. Results showed that Bradyrhizobium elkanii and Ensifer fredii were widely distributed in acid and alkaline soils respectively. Available iron was detected as the first determinant for distribution of the two rhizobia and the soybean varieties did not greatly affect the rhizobial compatibility. Geographical latitude and precipitation in June were the main geographical and climatic factors affecting the rhizobial distribution. Inoculation with selected rhizobia increased the nodule number, fresh weight, occupation ratio, seed protein content and soybean yields., Conclusions: Selection and application of effective soybean rhizobia across China according to biogeography were clarified to promote the SNF, thereby improving soybean yield., Significance and Impact of the Study: Rhizobial diversity and biogeography were evaluated systematically in six sites across China. Available iron and soil pH are found to be the most important determinants for the distribution of soybean rhizobia. Inoculation to soybean enhances SNF, positively correlating to the increase in soybean yield and seed protein content., (© 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

One Gram-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated as FH14 T , was isolated from nodules of Phaseolus vulgaris grown in Hidalgo State of Mexico. Results based upon 16S rRNA gene (≥99.8 % similarities to known species), concatenated sequence (recA, atpD and glnII) analysis of three housekeeping genes (≤93.4 % similarities to known species) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of genome sequence (ranged from 87.6 to 90.0 % to related species) indicated the distinct position of strain FH14 T within the genus Rhizobium. In analyses of symbiotic genes, only nitrogen fixation gene nifH was amplified that had nucleotide sequence identical to those of the bean-nodulating strains in R. phaseoli and R. vallis, while nodulation gene nodC gene was not amplified. The failure of nodulation to its original host P. vulgaris and other legumes evidenced the loss of its nodulation capability. Strain FH14 T contained summed feature 8 (C 18:1 ω6c/C 18:1 ω7c, 59.96 %), C 16:0 (10.6 %) and summed feature 2 (C 12:0 aldehyde/unknown 10.928, 10.24 %) as the major components of cellular fatty acids. Failure to utilize alaninamide, and utilizing L-alanine, L-asparagine and γ-amino butyric acid as carbon source, distinguished the strain FH14 T from the type strains for the related species. The genome size and DNA G+C content of FH14 T were 6.94 Mbp and 60.8 mol %, respectively. Based on those results, a novel specie in Rhizobium, named Rhizobium hidalgonense sp. nov., was proposed, with FH14 T (=HAMBI 3636 T  = LMG 29288 T ) as the type strain.

To investigate the effects of land use and crop management on soybean rhizobial communities, 280 nodule isolates were trapped from 7 fields with different land use and culture histories. Besides the known Bradyrhizobium japonicum, three novel genospecies were isolated from these fields. Grassland (GL) maintained a higher diversity of soybean bradyrhizobia than the other cultivation systems. Two genospecies (Bradyrhizobium spp. I and III) were distributed widely in all treatments, while Bradyrhizobium sp. II was found only in GL treatment. Cultivation with soybeans increased the rhizobial abundance and diversity, except for the soybean monoculture (S-S) treatment. In monoculture systems, soybeans favored Bradyrhizobium sp. I, while maize and wheat favored Bradyrhizobium sp. III. Fertilization decreased the rhizobial diversity indexes but did not change the species composition. The organic carbon (OC) and available phosphorus (AP) contents and pH were the main soil parameters positively correlated with the distribution of Bradyrhizobium spp. I and II and Bradyrhizobium japonicum and negatively correlated with Bradyrhizobium sp. III. These results revealed that different land uses and crop management could not only alter the diversity and abundance of soybean rhizobia, but also change interactions between rhizobia and legume or nonlegume plants, which offered novel information about the biogeography of rhizobia., (Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

In a long-term experimental plot at the Hailun Agricultural Ecology Station of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China, the effects of three land management practices including natural restoration, fallowing and cropping on black soil microbial biomass C and enzyme activities at the depths of 0-10, 20-30 and 40-50 cm were investigated. The results showed that at 0-10 cm, soil microbial biomass C and soil urease, phosphatase, catalase and invertase activities were in the sequence of natural restoration > cropping > fallowing, while at 20-30 cm and 40-50 cm, they had less significant differences as those at 0-10 cm. Under natural restoration and cropping, soil microbial biomass C and soil urease, phosphatase and catalase activities decreased with increasing soil depth, while under fallowing, they were higher at 20-30 cm. Correlation analysis showed that there existed significant positive correlations between soil total C and total N, soil total C and microbial biomass C, and soil microbial biomass C and test enzyme activities. The indices soil microbial biomass C and soil enzyme activities showed that black soil under long-term natural restoration had better soil quality.