Rhizobium pongamiae sp. nov. from Root Nodules of Pongamia pinnata

Table 1

Phenotypic characteristics of Rhizobium pongamiae VKLR-01T and type strains of phylogenetically related Rhizobium species.

Characteristic	1	2	3	4
Origin	Root nodule of P. pinnata (North Guwahati, Assam)	Galega orientalis (Finland)	ND	Ficus benjamina (Florida)
Cell morphology (µm)	Rods (0.4–0.5 × 1.4–1.6)	Rods (0.9–1.0 × 1.5–1.8)^a	Rods (0.6–1 × 1.5–3.0)	Rods
Flagella	ND	1-2	Several, peritrichous	Several, peritrichous
Nodulation	+	+	−	−
pH range	6–11	5.0–9.5^a	ND	ND
Growth at/in
40°C	+	−	ND	−
1% NaCl	+	+	+	+
2% NaCl	+	−	+	+
4% NaCl	+	−	−	−
Utilization as carbon source
Sucrose	+	+	ND	ND
Arabinose	−	+	+	ND
Mannitol	+	+	+	ND
Lactose	+	−	ND	ND
Glucose	−	+	ND	ND
Maltose	+	ND	+	+
Melibiose	+	+	+	ND

Strains: 1, R. pongamiae VKLR-01^T (present study); 2, R. galegae LMG 6214^T 3; 3, A. tumefaciens (biovar 1); 4, R. larrymoorei AF3-10^T [9–12]. ^aUnpublished data of Wang et al. (personal communication) [13]. +: positive; −: negative; ND: data not available. All strains are Gram negative, aerobic, rod shaped, and nonspore forming. All 7 strains are positive for oxidase, catalase, and nitrate reductase tests.