30th Aug (Thu) 17:30 - 19:00

Evolution and diversity of Legume - Soil Bacteria Symbiosis

The mutualistic symbiosis between legume plants and the soil bacteria called rhizobia is a rather complicated interaction that results in the development of nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Through nodulation with the rhizobia, legumes obtain ammonia from the atmospheric nitrogen, which results in legumes being a rich source of protein. Despite Leguminosae being one of the largest families of plants, only a small number of species had been studied with regard to their symbiotic rhizobia, until recent years. These were mainly those of agricultural interest. This situation has changed in the last two decades, through applying sequencing techniques to bacterial taxonomy and the isolation of root nodule bacteria from many legume species worldwide. Consequently, a huge unexpected diversity of rhizobia is being revealed. Current challenges in studying the legume-root nodule bacteria symbiosis include the need to extend our understanding of rhizobial diversity to previously unresearched legumes, in particular to ecologically important wild legumes growing in different geographic zones and contrasting habitats. This symposium will comprise several talks, including different aspects of the rhizobia-Lotus symbiosis in the Canary Islands, using traditional sequencing techniques and metagenomic analysis.

ORGANIZERS: Milagros Leon Barrios (La Laguna University, Spain); Kojiro Takanashi (Shinshu University, Japan); Tadashi Kajita (University of the Ryukyus, Japan)