Desiccation tolerance of four strains of Rhizobium japonicum

The survival of different strains of Rhizobium japonicum was evaluated in three soils with two matric- and three osmotic-induced moisture potentials. Both drying and added NaCl significantly decreased populations. Strains CC 709 and USDA 110 were less affected by the matric- or osmotic-induced desiccation than strains CB 1809 and USDA 123. The survival of CC 709 and USDA 110 at 2 weeks with 0.7% added NaCI was 33 and 46% of initial counts in soils undergoing drying, and 70 and 69% in soils maintained at the 30kPa (0.3 bar) potential. Comparable survivals of CB 1809 and USDA 123 were 15 and 18% and 56 and 59%, respectively. The soil with the greatest clay and organic C contents maintained the highest populations during desiccation. Turbidity measurements indicated similar rates of growth of the four strains at a water activity (A_w) of 0.999 in yeast mannitol broth (YMB). When the YMB was adjusted with glycerol to lower water activities, strains CC 709 and USDA 110 consistently showed greater growth than did strains CB 1809 and USDA 123. No growth of CB 1809 and USDA 123 was observed at an (A_w) of 0.975. Water adsorption isotherms of freeze-dried cells showed that the more desiccation-susceptible strains (CC 709 and USDA 110) retained greater amounts of water at a given relative vapor pressure than did the two more tolerant strains.