Abstract
Little is known on the role of plasmids in the survival of rhizobia under adverse soil conditions. Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii W14-2 contains four plasmids ranging in size from 260 to 560 MDa. We used plasmid-cured derivatives of the strain, including a plasmidless derivative, to investigate the relationship between plasmid content and survival under drought stress in sterile soil. Plasmids a (260 MDa) and c (350 MDa) contributed to the survival of W14-2 in soil under drought stress, whereas the presence of plasmid d (560 MDa; pSym) was detrimental to the strain. No plasmid-cured derivative performed better than the wild-type at a soil water potential of −7.0 MPa, suggesting that presence of plasmids may be necessary for survival in the field under drought stress.
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