INTRINSIC ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANCE AMONG RHIZOBIA ISOLATED FROM SUBTROPICAL HIMALAYAN LEGUMES

Rhizobial isolates from 10 wild legumes of the sal forest ecosystem in the sub-tropical north-western Himalaya (India) were evaluated for intrinsic antibiotic resistance (IAR), using different concentrations of six antibiotics (streptomycin, gentamycin, rifampicin, chloramphenicol, neomycin and tetracycline). The results suggested that :(i) the IAR patterns are both strain specific and antibiotic specific; (ii) the IAR technique is sensitive enough to discriminate between rhizobial isolates of the same legume host inhabiting different habitats; and (iii) the IAR patterns of the fast-growing DSaSV 46 were dissimilar from those of slow-growing isolates.