RHIZOBIUM HAINANENSE SP-NOV, ISOLATED FROM TROPICAL LEGUMES

A fast-growing rhizobial group isolated from leguminous plants in Hain an Province, a tropical region of China, is proposed as a new Rhizobiu m species on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, DNA-DNA hybridizat ion, and phenotypic characterization. This new species belongs to the phylogenetic branch which includes Rhizobium leguminosarum. We propose the name Rhizobium hainanense sp. nov. for this species. The strain C CBAU 57015 (I66) is the type strain; it has been deposited in the cult ure collection of Beijing Agricultural University, People's Republic o f China.