Legume species belonging to the genus Lupinus are annual herb plants. The majority of them are indigenous to the Americas. They are known for nitrogen-fixing symbioses with soil bacteria collectively called rhizobia. The aim of this study was to characterize a rhizobium strain isolated from Lupinus albescens using phenotypic, symbiotic and molecular approaches. Strain UFSM LA 1.3 was tested in vitro according to several parameters: colony size, color and growing rate; acid or alkaline reaction in yeast mannitol media supplemented with bromothymol blue; gum production. Molecular characterization was evaluated by PCR technique using primers BOX A1-R and sequence analysis of the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic region (ITS). ITS sequencing fragments showed genetic similarity with Bradyrhizobium sp. The polymorphism observed by BOX-PCR have shown that strain differs from the reference strain SEMIA 928 and SEMIA 938. The symbiotic efficiency under axenic conditions of UFSM LA 1.3 was 94.6%, without statistical differences compared to the mineral nitrogen fertilized control, to which was applied solution of 400 mg of ammonium nitrate.
lupin; rhizobia; genotypic approaches
