Ahmed Idris Hassen
Plant Protection Research Institute, South Africa
Title: Members of the Genus Bradyrhizobium are the major nodulating microsymbionts of indigenous and exotic forage legumes in South Africa
Biography
Biography: Ahmed Idris Hassen
Abstract
The nodulation screening and characterization of rhizobial microsymbionts of selected forage and pasture legumes was conducted following the Koch’s postulate experiment under glasshouse condition. The authentication test involved the use of rhizobial strains previously collected from the legumes Macrotyloma axillare, Desmodium uncinatum, Indigofera spicata var. spicata, Stylosanthus gracillis, Vigna unguiculata and Vigna sp. The results revealed that all the tested strains of rhizobia showed effectiveness in nodulating their respective legume host from which they were initially isolated with statistically significant (p= 0.05) increase in plant biomass and nodule number in comparison with the un-inoculated control. To elucidate their identity and phylogenetic relatedness, the most effective strains were selected and characterized using the 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The analysis confirmed that the majority of the strains associated with the nodulation of the forage legumes belong to the Genus Bradyrhizobium with a 99% similarity in their 16S rRNA. The results obtained provide baseline information in the understanding of the legume rhizobium symbiosis for the selection and development of effective nodulation and nitrogen fixing strains for forage and pasture improvement.