Genetic diversity and phylogeny of indigenous rhizobia nodulating faba bean (Vicia faba L.) in Greece.

The genetic diversity and phylogeny of fast-growing rhizobia isolated from root nodules of Vicia faba grown in different geographical regions of Greece were assessed. Although Rhizobium leguminosarum sv. viciae is the most common symbiont of Vicia spp. in European soils, there is no available information on native rhizobia nodulating faba bean in Greece. Seventy bacterial strains were isolated and grouped into sixteen distinct profiles based on BOX-PCR fingerprinting. The phylogenetic affiliation was further defined by sequence analysis of the rrs and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) of three housekeeping genes (recA, atpD and gyrB). Fifty-eight isolates were affiliated with recently described genospecies gsF-2, represented by R. laguerreae FB206T, whereas six isolates were closely related to gsB and two isolates might belong to gsA. Two isolates assigned to R. hidalgonense and another two non-nodulating strains could not be assigned to any validly defined species and possibly belong to a new rhizobial lineage. Interestingly, R. laguerreae strains were commonly found at all sampling sites, suggesting that they could be the main symbionts of faba beans in Greek soils. According to the phylogenies of two symbiosis-related genes (nodC and nifH), all nodulating isolates belonged to symbiovar (sv.) viciae harboring four distinct nodC gene haplotypes and they were grouped into two clades together with strains assigned to R. laguerreae and genospecies of R. leguminosarum isolated from other countries and continents. This is the first report that R. hidalgonense strains belong to sv. viciae. No correlation was observed between the nodC haplotypes, geographic origin and chromosomal background of the isolates in the study.