Rhizobium miluonense sp. nov., a symbiotic bacterium isolated from Lespedeza root nodules.

Seventeen strains of lespedeza rhizobia, a previously defined novel group, were further characterized by comparison with phylogenetically related species using a polyphasic approach, including SDS-PAGE of whole-cell proteins, PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of ribosomal intergenic spacer sequences, determination of DNA G+C contents, DNA–DNA hybridization and analysis of phenotypic features. Based on data obtained in the present and previous studies, a novel species, Rhizobium miluonense sp. nov., is proposed for these strains. The type strain of R. miluonense is CCBAU 41251T (=LMG 24208T=HAMBI 2971T). Strain CCBAU 41251T could form ineffective nodules on Phaseolus vulgaris in addition to its original host Lespedeza chinensis.