Burkholderia sp. Induces Functional Nodules on the South African Invasive Legume Dipogon lignosus (Phaseoleae) in New

Abstract The South African invasive legumeDipogonlignosus(Phaseoleae)producesnoduleswithbothdeterminateand indeterminate characteristics in New Zealand (NZ) soils.Ten bacterial isolates produced functional nodules onD.lignosus.The16SribosomalRNA(rRNA)genesequencesidentified one isolate as Bradyrhizobium sp., one isolate asRhizobium sp. and eight isolates as Burkholderia sp. TheBradyrhizobium sp. and Rhizobium sp. 16S rRNA sequenceswereidenticaltothoseofstrainspreviouslyisolatedfromcropplants and may have originated from inocula used on crops.Both 16S rRNA and DNA recombinase A (recA)genese-quences placed the eight Burkholderia isolates separate frompreviously describedBurkholderia rhizobial species.However, the isolates showed a very close relationship toBurkholderia rhizobial strains isolated from South Africanplants with respect to their nitrogenase iron protein (nifH),N-acyltransferase nodulation protein A (nodA)andN-acetylglucosaminyl transferase nodulation protein C (nodC)gene sequences. Gene sequences and enterobacterial repeti-tive intergenic consensus (ERIC) PCR and repetitive elementpalindromic PCR (rep-PCR) banding patterns indicated thatthe eight Burkholderia isolates separated into five clones ofone strain and three of another. One strain was tested andshown to produce functional nodules on a range of SouthAfricanplantspreviouslyreportedtobenodulatedbyBurkholderia tuberum STM678