AFLP fingerprint analysis of Bradyrhizobium strains isolated from Faidherbia albida and Aeschynomene species

The diversity of Bradyrhizobium isolates from Faidherbia albida and Aeschyn omenee species was assessed using AFLP analysis, a high-resolution genomic fingerprinting technique. Reference strains from Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Bradyrhizobium elkanii and Bradyrhizobium liaoningense were included for co mparison. At a similarity level of 50%, a total of 34 different groups were obtained by cluster analysis of the genomic fingerprints. Four of these cl usters correspond to the three reference species, demonstrating the large d iversity of the isolates studied. Comparison with other data demonstrates t hat AFLP has a higher resolution than restriction analysis of 16S rRNA gene s, SDS-PAGE analysis of proteins and phenotypic analysis. Results of the la tter two methods showed little correspondence with the genotypic data.