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The isolation of rhizobial strains from the root and stem nodules remains a commonly used method despite its limitations as it enables the identification of mainly dominant symbiotic groups within rhizobial communities. To overcome these limitations, we used genus-specific nifD primers in a culture-independent assessment of Bradyrhizobium communities inhabiting soils in southern Brazil. The majority of nifD sequences were generated from DNA isolated from tropical-lowland pasture soils, although some soil samples originated from the Campos de Cima da Serra volcanic plateau. In the nifD tree, all the bradyrhizobial sequences comprised 38 clades, including 18 new clades. The sequences generated in this study were resolved into 22 clades and 21 singletons. The nifD bradyrhizobial assemblage contained Azorhizobium and α-proteobacterial methylotrophic genera, suggesting that these genera may have acquired their nif loci from Bradyrhizobium donors. The most common in the lowland pasture soils subclade III.3D branch comprises the isolates of mainly an American origin. On the other hand, subclade III.4, which was earlier detected in Brazil among Bradyrhizobium isolates nodulating native lupins, appears more common in the Campos de Cima da Serra soils. The second-largest group, Clade XXXVIII, has not yet been reported in culture-dependent studies, while another common group called Clade I represents a symbiovar predominating in Australia. The identification of the diverse nifD Clade I haplotypes in the tropical-lowland pastures infested by Australian Acacia spp implies that the introduction of these legumes to southern Brazil has resulted in the dissemination of their bradyrhizobial symbionts.

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In this work, we investigated Bradyrhizobium strains isolated from soils collected from the rhizosphere of native and exotic legumes species inhabiting two ecoclimatic zones - asubtropical-lowland pasture (Pampa Biome) and a volcanic plateau covered by Araucaria Moist Forests (Atlantic Forest Biome). The rhizobial strains were isolated from the nodules of seven native and one exotic legume species used as rhizobium traps. Single-gene (recA, glnII, dnaK) and combined-gene MLSA analyses (dnaK-glnII-gyrB-recA-rpoB) revealed that nearly 85% of the isolates clustered in B. elkanii supergroup, while the remaining (except for two isolates) in B. japonicum supergroup, albeit, in most cases, separately from the type strains of Bradyrhizobium species. As a symbiotic gene marker, a portion of nifD gene was sequenced for 194 strains. In the nifD-tree, an American branch III.3D (104 isolates), was the most numerous among the isolates. A significant portion of the isolates clustered in American groups; subclade III.4 (40 strains), Clade VII (3 strains), and a new Clade XX (4 strains). Most of the remaining strains belonged to a pantropical III.3C branch (39 isolates). On the other hand, identification of isolates belonging, respectively, to Clade I and Clade II may result of spreading of the Australian (Clade I) and European (Clade II) bradyrhizobia following the introduction of their legume hosts. Our study indicated that the American groups predominated in the symbiotic Bradyrhizobium communities in southern Brazil. However, there is a significant component of exotic lineages, resulting from the dispersal of pantropical Fabaceae taxa and the introduction of exotic legumes.

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Lupinus albescens is a resistant cover plant that establishes symbiotic relationships with bacteria belonging to the Bradyrhizobium genus. This symbiosis helps the development of these plants in adverse environmental conditions, such as the ones found in arenized areas of Southern Brazil. This work studied three Bradyrhizobium sp. (AS23, NAS80 and NAS96) isolated from L. albescens plants that grow in extremely poor soils (arenized areas and adjacent grasslands). The genomes of these three strains were sequenced in the Ion Torrent platform using the IonXpress library preparation kit, and presented a total number of bases of 1,230,460,823 for AS23, 1,320,104,022 for NAS80, and 1,236,105,093 for NAS96. The genome comparison with closest strains Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA6 and Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110 showed important variable regions (with less than 80% of similarity). Genes encoding for factors for resistance/tolerance to heavy metal, flagellar motility, response to osmotic and oxidative stresses, heat shock proteins (present only in the three sequenced genomes) could be responsible for the ability of these microorganisms to survive in inhospitable environments. Knowledge about these genomes will provide a foundation for future development of an inoculant bioproduct that should optimize the recovery of degraded soils using cover crops.

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In the pursuit of sustainable agriculture, bioinoculants usage as providers of a crop's needs is a method to limit environmental damage. In this study, a collection of cultivable putative plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria associated with wheat crops was obtained and this bacterial sample was characterized in relation to the functional diversity of certain PGP features. The isolates were obtained through classical cultivation methods, identified by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and characterized for PGP traits of interest. Functional diversity characterization was performed using Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CatPCA) and Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). The most abundant genera found among the 346 isolates were Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Enterobacter. Occurrence of PGP traits was affected by genus, niche, and sampling site. A large number of genera grouped together with the ability to produce indolic compounds; phosphate solubilization and siderophores production formed a second group related to fewer genera, in which the genus Burkholderia has a great importance. The results obtained may help future studies aiming prospection of putative plant growth promoting bacteria regarding the desired organism and PGP trait.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different grazing pressures on the activity and diversity of soil bacteria. We performed a long-term experiment in Eldorado do Sul, southern Brazil, that assessed three levels of grazing pressure: high pressure (HP), with 4% herbage allowance (HA), moderate pressure (MP), with 12% HA, and low pressure (LP), with 16% HA. Two reference areas were also assessed, one of never-grazed native vegetation (NG) and another of regenerated vegetation after two years of grazing (RG). Soil samples were evaluated for microbial biomass and enzymatic (ß-glucosidase, arylsulfatase and urease) activities. The structure of the bacterial community and the population of diazotrophic bacteria were evaluated by RFLP of the 16S rRNA and nifH genes, respectively. The diversity of diazotrophic bacteria was assessed by partial sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene. The presence of grazing animals increased soil microbial biomass in MP and HP. The structures of the bacterial community and the populations of diazotrophic bacteria were altered by the different grazing managements, with a greater diversity of diazotrophic bacteria in the LP treatment. Based on the characteristics evaluated, the MP treatment was the most appropriate for animal production and conservation of the Pampa biome.

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Lupinus albescens is a leguminous plant that belongs to "New World" lupine species, which is native to southern Brazil. This Brazilian region is characterized by poor degraded soils with low organic matter and is designated as an arenized area. The symbiosis between Lupinus plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria belonging to the Bradyrhizobium genus may help the plant establish itself in these areas. To characterize the bradyrhizobial population symbionts of L. albescens plants grown in arenized and non-arenized areas, a multilocus phylogenetic analysis allied to genetic diversity indices were conducted. Seventy-four bradyrhizobial isolates were analyzed, 38 coming from L. albescens plants growing in an arenized area and 36 from a non-arenized area. Isolates were different between arenized and non-arenized areas. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA, dnaK, atpD, recA, glnII, rpoB, gyrB, nodA, nodB, and nodZ genes resulted in three supported clades, which were most likely to be three different new Bradyrhizobium species: one species from the arenized area and two from the non-arenized area. Estimates of genetic diversity, which decreased in arenized areas, were positively correlated with habitat variability. These results suggested that a few resistant and efficient Bradyrhizobium sp. strains were capable of forming nodules on L. albescens plants growing in an arenized area. An in vivo inoculation experiment with L. albescens plants showed that Bradyrhizobium ssp. isolated from this extreme environment were more efficient at promoting plant growth than those from the non-arenized area. This result suggested that the environment affected the selection of more efficient plant growth promoters in order to sustain plant growth.

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This work aimed to evaluate the symbiotic compatibility and nodulation efficiency of rhizobia isolated from Desmodium incanum, Lotus corniculatus, L. subbiflorus, L. uliginosus and L. glaber plants by cross-inoculation. Twelve reference strains and 21 native isolates of rhizobia were genetically analyzed by the BOX-PCR technique, which showed a high genetic diversity among the rhizobia studied. The isolates were also characterized based on their production of indolic compounds and siderophores, as well as on their tolerance to salinity. Fifteen of the 33 rhizobia analyzed were able to produce indolic compounds, whereas 13 produced siderophores. All the tested rhizobia were sensitive to high salinity, although some were able to grow in solutions of up to 2% NaCl. Most of the native rhizobia isolated from L. uliginosus were able to induce nodulation in all plant species studied. In a greenhouse experiment using both D. incanum and L. corniculatus plants, the rhizobia isolate UFRGS Lu2 promoted the greatest plant growth. The results demonstrate that there are native rhizobia in the soils of southern Brazil that have low host specificity and are able to induce nodulation and form active nodules in several plant species.

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Crop production may benefit from plant growth-promoting bacteria. The knowledge on bacterial communities is indispensable in agricultural systems that intend to apply beneficial bacteria to improve plant health and production of crops such as canola. In this work, the diversity of root bacterial communities associated to two different developmental phases of canola (Brassica napus L.) plants was assessed through the application of new generation sequencing technology. Total bacterial DNA was extracted from root samples from two different growth states of canola (rosette and flowering). It could be shown how bacterial communities inside the roots changed with the growing stage of the canola plants. There were differences in the abundance of the genera, family, and even the phyla identified for each sample. While in both root samples Proteobacteria was the most common phylum, at the rosette stage, the most common bacteria belonged to the family Pseudomonadaceae and the genus Pseudomonas, and in the flowering stage, the Xanthomonadaceae family and the genus Xanthomonas dominated the community. This implies in a switch in the predominant bacteria in the different developmental stages of the plant, suggesting that the plant itself interferes with the associated microbial community.

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Paenibacillus riograndensis SBR5(T), a nitrogen-fixing Gram-positive rhizobacterium isolated from a wheat field in the south of Brazil, has a great potential for agricultural applications due to its plant growth promotion effects. Here we present the draft genome sequence of P. riograndensis SBR5(T). Its 7.37-Mb genome encodes determinants of the diazotrophic lifestyle and plant growth promotion, such as nitrogen fixation, antibiotic resistance, nitrate utilization, and iron uptake.

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