LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE PATTERNS IN SDS-PAGE OF RHIZOBIA THAT NODULATE LEGUMINOUS TREES

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) patterns were obtained from fast-growing Rhizobium strains after silver staining of proteinase K treated cells lysates, run in SDS-PAGE. The rhizobia came from root nodules of Acacia senegal and Prosopis chilensis, collected in differents parts of the Sudan. The LPS profiles of all strains were typical of rhizobia. Two different LPS regions with lower and higher electrophoretic mobility (region I and region II, respectively) could be distinguished in the gels, and based on the profiles the strains were divided into three groups. Strains isolated from A. senegal showed a wider range of different profiles than strains isolated from P. chilensis, even though the plants belong to the same cross-infection group. Otherwise there was no clear correlation between the taxonomic relatedness or site of isolation of the strains and their LPS profiles.