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. 1993 May;175(10):2826–2832. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.10.2826-2832.1993

Characterization and symbiotic importance of acidic extracellular polysaccharides of Rhizobium sp. strain GRH2 isolated from acacia nodules.

I M Lopez-Lara 1, G Orgambide 1, F B Dazzo 1, J Olivares 1, N Toro 1
PMCID: PMC204597  PMID: 8491702

Abstract

Rhizobium sp. wild-type strain GRH2 was originally isolated from root nodules of the leguminous tree Acacia cyanophylla and has a broad host range which includes herbaceous legumes, e.g., Trifolium spp. We examined the extracellular exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by strain GRH2 and found three independent glycosidic structures: a high-molecular-weight acidic heteropolysaccharide which is very similar to the acidic EPS produced by Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii ANU843, a low-molecular-weight native heterooligosaccharide resembling a dimer of the repeat unit of the high-molecular-weight EPS, and low-molecular-weight neutral beta (1,2)-glucans. A Tn5 insertion mutant derivative of GRH2 (exo-57) that fails to form acidic heteropolysaccharides was obtained. This Exo- mutant formed nitrogen-fixing nodules on Acacia plants but infected a smaller proportion of cells in the central zone of the nodules than did wild-type GRH2. In addition, the exo-57 mutant failed to nodulate several herbaceous legume hosts that are nodulated by wild-type strain GRH2.

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Selected References

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