Genes 2012, 3(1), 35-61; doi:10.3390/genes3010035
Article

Comparative Genomics of Aeschynomene Symbionts: Insights into the Ecological Lifestyle of Nod-Independent Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobia

Damien Mornico 1,2 email, Lucie Miché 1 email, Gilles Béna 1,3 email, Nico Nouwen 1 email, André Verméglio 4 email, David Vallenet 2 email, Alexander A.T. Smith 2 email, Eric Giraud 1 email, Claudine Médigue 2 email and Lionel Moulin 1,* email
1 IRD-LSTM, UMR113, Campus de Baillarguet, 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, France 2 LABGeM, CEA-Genoscope & CNRS-UMR8030, 91057 Evry, France 3 LMBM, Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V-Agdal, Av. Ibn Batouta BP 1014, Rabat, Morocco 4 Laboratoire de Bioénergétique Cellulaire, CEA Cadarache, DSV, IBEB, 13108 Saint Paul-lez-Durance, France
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 16 September 2011; in revised form: 8 November 2011 / Accepted: 23 November 2011 / Published: 21 December 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bacterial Genomes and Their Evolution)
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Abstract: Tropical aquatic species of the legume genus Aeschynomene are stem- and root-nodulated by bradyrhizobia strains that exhibit atypical features such as photosynthetic capacities or the use of a nod gene-dependent (ND) or a nod gene-independent (NI) pathway to enter into symbiosis with legumes. In this study we used a comparative genomics approach on nine Aeschynomene symbionts representative of their phylogenetic diversity. We produced draft genomes of bradyrhizobial strains representing different phenotypes: five NI photosynthetic strains (STM3809, ORS375, STM3847, STM4509 and STM4523) in addition to the previously sequenced ORS278 and BTAi1 genomes, one photosynthetic strain ORS285 hosting both ND and NI symbiotic systems, and one NI non-photosynthetic strain (STM3843). Comparative genomics allowed us to infer the core, pan and dispensable genomes of Aeschynomene bradyrhizobia, and to detect specific genes and their location in Genomic Islands (GI). Specific gene sets linked to photosynthetic and NI/ND abilities were identified, and are currently being studied in functional analyses.
Keywords: rhizobia; genomics; Bradyrhizobium; Aeschynomene; nod-independent

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mornico, D.; Miché, L.; Béna, G.; Nouwen, N.; Verméglio, A.; Vallenet, D.; Smith, A.A.; Giraud, E.; Médigue, C.; Moulin, L. Comparative Genomics of Aeschynomene Symbionts: Insights into the Ecological Lifestyle of Nod-Independent Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobia. Genes 2012, 3, 35-61.

AMA Style

Mornico D, Miché L, Béna G, Nouwen N, Verméglio A, Vallenet D, Smith AA, Giraud E, Médigue C, Moulin L. Comparative Genomics of Aeschynomene Symbionts: Insights into the Ecological Lifestyle of Nod-Independent Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobia. Genes. 2012; 3(1):35-61.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mornico, Damien; Miché, Lucie; Béna, Gilles; Nouwen, Nico; Verméglio, André; Vallenet, David; Smith, Alexander A.T.; Giraud, Eric; Médigue, Claudine; Moulin, Lionel. 2012. "Comparative Genomics of Aeschynomene Symbionts: Insights into the Ecological Lifestyle of Nod-Independent Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobia." Genes 3, no. 1: 35-61.

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