Genetic diversity of fast-and slow-growing soybean rhizobia determined by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis

The genetic relationships among six strains of rhizobia, including three strains of Rhizobium fredii and three strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, was determined using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. In this study, 46 arbitrary 10mer primers were employed for RAPD, generating a total of 251 informative fragments. A dendrogram of phylogenetic relationships among the six strains was constructed. The results indicated that geographical distribution may affect phylogeny, as there were closer relationships among the four Taiwanese strains, SB138, SB562, SB368 and SB651, than between these strains and USDA192, which originated from mainland China. The strain USDA110, obtained from the United States, was used in the parsimony analysis. The greatest similarity (55.6%), existed between two strains of B. japonicum, SB562 and SB138, which both, and the lowest R. fredii (44.4%) between two strains of R. fredii, SB368 and USDA192. We also found a RAPD marker specific to the four Taiwanese SB strains used in the study. The RAPD technique is a potential tool for the identification of the genetics and systematics of different populations.