Metabolic capacity of Sinorhizobium (Ensifer) meliloti strains as determined by phenotype microArray analysis

The Phenotype MicroArray (PM) system is used for testing different growth conditions in order to compare the metabolic capabilities of the reference strain Rm1021 with those of natural Sinorhizobium meliloti isolates, which are analyzed by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The results have shown that the analysis of phenotypic variability of Sinorhizobium meliloti populations is a vital and complementary step in the examination of genetic polymorphism of rhizobia and has helped in analyzing rhizobial evolutionary dynamics.