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Investigation Of The Individual Soybean Root Nodule Microbiome, Parris Mica Mayhood

MSU Graduate Theses

Soybean is a valuable crop that establishes a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing microorganisms. Previous research suggests members of the genus Bradyrhizobium are the major nitrogen-fixing inhabitants of soybean root nodules. However, results from recent studies identified the presence of other bacteria, so called non-rhizobial endophytes (NREs), inside root nodules. All previous research has pooled nodules of different plants for bacterial community analysis, but this study investigated the presence and relative abundance of rhizobia and NREs within multiple root nodules of a single plant. Three sites were selected on Kendrick Farm in Springfield, MO, where three plants and rhizosphere soil were …