Abstract
Three fast-growing rhizobia ( Rhizobium meliloti isolated from Medicago saliva, R. trifolii from Trifolium subterraneum, and Rhizohium sp. from Leucaena leucocephala) and three slow-growing rhizobia R. japonicum from Glycine max, Rhizobium spp from Centrosema pubescens and Crotolaria anagyroides) were grown in defined media. The mean generation times of the fast-growing and slowgrowing strains were 3.8 h and 8.6 h respectively. Slow-growing organisms raised the initial pH of the defined medium while the fast-growing organisms lowered it. Rates of oxygen consumption tended to be higher in the slow-growing organisms. UMKL 19 (isolated from L. leucocephala) possessed all the normal reactions of fast-growing rhizobia but had a single sub-polar flagellum, similar to the three slow-growing strains studied. Certain combinations of amino acids and sugars (e.g. glutamine and galactose) induced an acidic reaction in the fast-growing organisms while the slow-growing ones changed the media to alkaline. Fast-growing organisms utilized more galactose for growth compared to slow-growing ones. Both types of organisms synthesized and released a wide range of amino acids into the medium. We suggest that pH changes produced by rhizobia growing on yeast-extract mannitol media are caused by the preferential utilization of sugars by fast-growing organisms and nitrogenous compounds by slow-growing ones.
Published Version
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