''Ensifer numidicus'' is a nitrogen fixing symbiont of

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore forming, rod-shaped bacterium of the family

Rhizobiaceae The Rhizobiaceae is a family of Pseudomonadota comprising multiple subgroups that enhance and hinder plant development. Some bacteria found in the family are used for plant nutrition and collectively make up the rhizobia. Other bacteria such as ...

. First described in 2010; more biovars have since been isolated and described with ORS 1407 considered the representative organism. Most examples have been found in arid and infra-arid regions of Tunisia.

Host plants

Biovars has been shown to induce nodule formation in a wide variety of

symbiosis Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

competent plant species including '' Medicago Sativa(''cultivated alfalfa)'','' ''

Lotus creticus ''Lotus creticus'' is a species of perennial herb of the family Fabaceae found in tropical Africa. It is symbiosis-competent and engages in nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interactions with species of the Ensifer genus 3]. It comprises three varieties ...

'''','' ''Syrian mesquite(

Prosopis farcta ''Prosopis farcta'', the Syrian mesquite, is a species of the genus Prosopis, growing in and around the Middle East. Botanical details ''Prosopis farcta'' is a below-ground tree. Above ground, it looks like a shrub with a height of 20–100&nb ...

)'', Lens culinaris Medikus ssp( lentils) as well as ''

Cicer arietinum The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

''(chickpea) and

Argyrolobium uniflorum ''Argyrolobium uniflorum'' is a wild pluriannual herbaceous species of drought tolerant legume found in arid regions of Northern Africa sometimes described as pseudo-savannah. ''A. uniflorum'' is a hardy wild species of plant and it is consider ...

Associated Biovars

: ORS 1407 cultivated alfalfa ''( Medicago sativa)'' :ORS 1407 ''

: PT26'''','' ORS 1410 Cultivated Lentil, lentils(Lens culinaris): ORS 1444 ''

''(chickpea):LBi₂ ''Syrian mesquite(

):''PN14 Known relationships between cultivars This phylogeny is based on a constrained analysis of the

16S ribosomal RNA 16 S ribosomal RNA (or 16 S rRNA) is the RNA component of the 30S subunit of a prokaryotic ribosome (SSU rRNA). It binds to the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and provides most of the SSU structure. The genes coding for it are referred to as 16S rRNA ...

Genome

16s RNA analysis has found ''Ensifer numidicus'' to be closely related to ''Ensifer medicae'' and ''Ensifer garamanticus''. Analogous genes between closely related species suggests high levels of horizontal gene transfer between closely related species. Laboratory inoculation has shown ''Ensifer numidicus'' engages in indeterminate nodulation with host plants in at least some circumstances.

Growth conditions

''E. numidicus'' has been found to grow on yeast-mannitol medium at 28C with an upper limit of 40C. Laboratory cultivated strains have found metabolism of at least 13 substrates including dulcitol, D-lyxose, 1-O-methyl a-D-glucopyranoside, 3-O-methyl-D-glucopyranose, D-gluconate,

L-histidine Histidine (symbol His or H) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated –NH3+ form under biological conditions), a carboxylic acid group (which is in the d ...

, succinate,

fumarate Fumaric acid is an organic compound with the formula HO2CCH=CHCO2H. A white solid, fumaric acid occurs widely in nature. It has a fruit-like taste and has been used as a food additive. Its E number is E297. The salts and esters are known as f ...

ethanolamine Ethanolamine (2-aminoethanol, monoethanolamine, ETA, or MEA) is an organic chemical compound with the formula or . The molecule is bifunctional, containing both a primary amine and a primary alcohol. Ethanolamine is a colorless, viscous liquid wit ...

, DL-b-hydroxybutyrate, L-aspartate, L-alanine and propionate. Sensitivity has been found to salt concentrations greater than 4%. Due to similarities to other Ensifer species, it cannot be described by growth conditions alone and must be differentiated by genetic components.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q62883126 Rhizobiaceae Symbiosis