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Screening of high effective alfalfa rhizobial strains with a comprehensive protocol

Annals of Microbiology volume 58, pages 731–739 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Ninety-six alfalfa rhizobial strains were screened with a two-step strategy to select high effective and competitive microsymbionts for this plant grown in Inner Mongolia. Firstly, all the strains were inoculated to surface-sterilised seeds sown in vermiculite and grown in greenhouse. After grown 45 days, the shoot dry weight, number and nitrogenase activity of nodules were recorded and statistically analysed to select the more effective strains. Secondly, the competitiveness of 4 more effective strains designated in first step were evaluated by inoculation of each strain to alfalfa seeds grown in natural so il collected from Inner Mongolia. The nodule occupancy of each inoculated strain was assayed with BOX-PCR fingerprinting. With this strategy, 4 strains, all isolated from the same eco-region, were claimed as the best symbionts with alfalfa in that soil. The statistically designated best strains were exactly the most competitive and most effective ones in the second step, and the results were further confirmed by a field experiment. This study offered an efficient strategy to select rhizobial inoculants and demonstrated the possibility that the local rhizobial population might be highly effective and competitive for the epidemic legumes there.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, Key Laboratory of Agro-Microbial Resource and Application, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, 100094, Beijing, China

    Rui Zong Jia, Chang Fu Tian, Chao Xin Man & Wen Xin Chen

  2. Departamento de Microbiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 11340, México, D.F., México

    En Tao Wang

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  1. Rui Zong Jia
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  2. Chang Fu Tian
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  3. Chao Xin Man
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  4. En Tao Wang
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  5. Wen Xin Chen
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Correspondence to Wen Xin Chen.

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Jia, R.Z., Tian, C.F., Man, C.X. et al. Screening of high effective alfalfa rhizobial strains with a comprehensive protocol. Ann. Microbiol. 58, 731–739 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03175583

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03175583

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Annals of Microbiology

ISSN: 1869-2044

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