New Zealand Journal of Botany abstract
B96043
Received 12 July 1996; accepted 4 April 1997
Typical Frankia infect actinorhizal plants exotic to New Zealand
MICHAEL L. CLAWSON
DAVID R. BENSON
STEVEN C. RESCH
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
U-44
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269-3044, USA
DAVID W. STEPHENS
WARWICK B. SILVESTER
Department of Biological Sciences
The University of Waikato
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton 2001, New Zealand
Abstract Frankia strains are actinomycetes that fix N2
in root nodules of plants classified in eight families of the Angiospermae. The
wide variety of plants infected has raised questions about the ecology and
diversity of Frankia symbionts, and their co-evolution with actinorhizal
plants. Partial sequencing was done of the small subunit (16S) rRNA gene from
Frankia endophytes present in the root nodules of Alnus cordata,
A. glutinosa, A. viridis, Casuarina equisetifolia,
Coriaria arborea, C. plumosa, and Elaeagnus pungens
growing in New Zealand. With the exceptions of the Coriaria spp., all of
the plants are exotic to New Zealand. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicates
that the exotic species were nodulated by Frankia strains that cluster
with strain groups previously shown to be typical for each actinorhizal host.
Frankia in 12 native Coriaria spp. nodules yielded two sequences
differing in only one position, suggesting a relatively low diversity compared
with the exotic species.
Keywords Frankia; actinorhizal; root nodule; nitrogen
fixation; 16S rRNA; rDNA; Alnus; Coriaria; Elaeagnus;
Casuarina
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