Conference 2021 Poster Presentation

 

Project title

Phylogeny of Symbiotic Genes and the Symbiotic Properties of Rhizobia Specific to Trigonella foenum graecum (fenugreek).

 

Authors and Affiliations

Najlae Belkadi1, Manal Boulaïz1, Fatima Ezzakkioui1, Said Barrijal1

1. Lab. Valorisation Biotechnologique des Microorganismes, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University Abdelmalek Essaadi, Tanger, Morocco.

 

Abstract

Background

Bacteria in the roots or the stems of legumes fix nitrogen and provide the plant with this nutrient. Symbiotic bacteria have been studied from only a small proportion of the extant legume species, and diverse genera have been reported to contain nodulating species.The symbiotic nitrogen fixation by root nodulating bacteria is a significant asset for world agricultural productivity, farming economy and environmental sustainability.
The aims of this study were gaining basic knowledge based on determination of the phylogeny of the nodC and nifH genes of rhizobia associated to medicinal legume Trigonella foenum graecum (TFG) in Morocco, and selecting efficient nitrogen-fixing isolates. Identification of indigenous rhizobial strains well-adapted to the local environmental characteristics of Moroccan soils will have applications in the formulation of appropriate inocula for improving crop yield.

Methods

A total of 47 isolates, having rhizobia characters, were collected from TFG’s nodules coming from 6 different sites of the North and West-Centre region of Morocco, representing the material subject of this study. The phylogeny of symbiotic genes of TFG nodule isolates was studied by sequence analysis of nodC and nifH loci. The symbiotic efficiency of the isolates was assessed by inoculating the TFG plants with 13 representative isolates.

Results

Phylogenetic studies derived from symbiotic genes indicated that nodC and nifH genes sequences were similar to those from Sinorhizobium medicae, and grouped within a cluster of nod genes from strains that nodulate plants from the Mimosoideae subfamily of the Leguminosae. Inoculation with rhizobial bacteria isolated from TFG showed that all isolates have the ability to nodulate this plant and improve the development of its root system and its aerial parts; therefore, the KhZ9, BnM1, HdG3, KsS7 and KhZ6 isolates were considered as the most efficients in the collection, and could be used us biofertilizers.

Conclusions

the results obtained in this study provide important background information for the development of effective Trigonella foenum graecum rhizobial inocula to be applied to the field cultivation of this crop in Morocco. Such studies are in progress and should help in a better understanding of phylogenetic diversity of fenugreek microsymbionts.

 


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