Symbiotic nitrogen contribution and biodiversity of root-nodule bacteria nodulating Psoralea species in the Cape Fynbos, South Africa

Abstract

The genus Psoralea (tribe Psoraleae, family Leguminosae) is indigenous to the Cape fynbos of South Africa and little is known about its symbiosis and/or adaptation. The aim of this study was to assess root nodulation and N2 fixation in eight of the 50 Psoralea species, as well as the biodiversity of their associated nodulating microsymbionts. The eight species studied (namely, Psoralea pinnata, Psoralea aphylla, Psoralea aculeata, Psoralea monophylla, Psoralea repens, Psoralea laxa, Psoralea asarina and Psoralea restioides) all had round-shaped, determinate type (desmodioid) nodules, and data from 15N natural abundance showed that they obtained 60–88% of their N nutrition from symbiotic fixation. These Psoralea species also transported their fixed-N as ureides (allantoin and allantoic acid) in the xylem stream, a symbiotic trait that links them very closely to the tribe Phaseoleae. Bacteria isolated from root nodules of the eight Psoralea species varied in phenotypic characteristics, nodulation promiscuity, and N2-fixing efficacy. Furthermore, 16S rDNA gene sequence data showed that Psoralea species can form root nodules with different soil bacteria, including Rhizobium, Mesorhizobium and Burkholderia strains. This is not only evidence of nodulation promiscuity, but also an indication of the species’ adaptation to the nutrient-poor, low-N, sandy acidic soils of the Cape fynbos.