Diversity and Symbiotic Effectiveness of Indigenous Rhizobia-Nodulating Adesmia bicolor in Soils of Central Argentina

Native perennial legume Adesmia bicolor reveals characteristics that are key to securing persistence under grazing. Literature on the diversity and symbiotic effectiveness of indigenous rhizobia-nodulating A. bicolor in central Argentina is limited. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine phenotypic and genotypic variability as well as biological N-fixation effectiveness in rhizobia isolated from A. bicolor nodules. To this end, repetitive genomic regions were analyzed using ERIC primers. In the greenhouse, plants were grown under a (i) N-fertilized treatment, (ii) N-free control treatment, and (iii) rhizobia inoculation treatment. Dry weight and N-content were analyzed. All isolates belonged to Rhizobium genus and showed high symbiotic effectiveness. The N-content/subterranean N-content ratio in aerial and subterranean parts of inoculated plants was higher than that observed in N-fertilized plants during the vegetative stage. Results from this study demonstrate that symbiosis between native rhizobial strains and A. bicolor is very effective.