Site-directed mutagenesis of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110 aroA improves bacterial growth and competitiveness for soybean nodulation in the presence of glyphosate

The in vitro growth of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110 strain is inhibited by glyphosate. The herbicide affects 5-enolpyruvylshikimic acid-3-phosphate synthase, a key enzyme for aromatic aminoacid synthesis. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis was used to change only two nucleotides of the coding region of phosphoenolpyruvate binding site. This change improved the in vitro growth of B. diazoefficiens USDA 110 in the presence of glyphosate, without affecting its normal growth in the absence of the herbicide. Plant co-inoculation experiments demonstrated a better competitiveness of the glyphosate-resistant strain for soybean nodulation in the presence of glyphosate.