Premium
The relationship of plasmid number to growth, acid tolerance and symbiotic efficiency in isolates of Rhizobium trifolii
Author(s) -
THURMAN N.P.,
LEWIS D.M.,
JONES D. GARETH
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1985.tb01422.x
Subject(s) - plasmid , biology , rhizobium , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , growth rate , genetics , dna , geometry , mathematics
Strains of Rhizobium trifolii isolated from 21 different sites in Wales were characterized for growth rate, acid and aluminium tolerance, symbiotic efficiency and plasmid content. Plasmid number ranged from 2 to 10 per isolate but it was not correlated with soil pH or altitude of the locality of isolation. Neither plasmid number nor the pH of the site of isolation affected growth in acid medium or aluminium sensitivity. Plasmid number was positively correlated with growth rate in pure culture (P > 0.001) but isolates with high plasmid numbers were inefficient in their nitrogen‐fixing ability on white clover. The possible role of plasmids in terms of competitive ability is discussed.