Studies of Phylogeny, Symbiotic Functioning and Ecological Traits of Indigenous Microsymbionts Nodulating Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) in Eswatini.

Rhizobial microsymbionts of grain legumes are ubiquitous in soils and exhibit a wide range of diversity with respect to colony morphology, genetic variability, biochemical characteristics, and phylogenetic relationships. This study assessed the phylogenetic positions of rhizobial microsymbionts of Bambara groundnut from Eswatini exhibiting variations in morpho-physiology, adaptive characteristics, and N-fixing efficiency. The isolates' ERIC-PCR profiles revealed the presence of high genetic variation among them.