The genomes of the family Rhizobiaceae: size, stability, and rarely cutting restriction endonucleases.

The lack of high-resolution genetic or physical maps for the family Rhizobiaceae limits our understanding of this agronomically important bacterial family. On the basis of statistical analyses of DNA sequences of the Rhizobiaceae and direct evaluation by pulsed-field agarose gel electrophoresis (PFE), five restriction endonucleases with AT-rich target sites were identified as the most rarely cutting: AseI (5'-ATTAAT-3'), DraI (5'-TTTAAA-3'), SpeI (5'-ACTAGT-3'), SspI (5'-AATAAT-3'), and XbaI (5'-TCTAGA-3'). We computed the sizes of the genomes of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 424 and Rhizobium meliloti 1021 by adding the sizes of DNA fragments generated by SpeI digests. The genome sizes of R. meliloti 1021 and B. japonicum USDA 424 were 5,379 +/- 282.5 kb and 6,195 +/- 192.4 kb, respectively. We also compared the organization of the genomes of free-living and bacteroid forms of B. japonicum. No differences between the PFE-resolved genomic fingerprints of free-living and mature (35 days after inoculation) bacteroids of B. japonicum USDA 123 and USDA 122 were observed. Also, B. japonicum USDA 123 genomic fingerprints were unchanged after passage through nodules and after maintenance on a rich growth medium for 100 generations. We conclude that large-scale DNA rearrangements are not seen in mature bacteroids or during free-living growth on rich growth media under laboratory conditions.