sp. nov. as a potential local bioinoculant for cultures in Côte d'Ivoire.

For many smallholder farmers of Sub-Saharan Africa, pigeonpea () is an important crop to make ends meet. To ascertain the taxonomic status of pigeonpea isolates of Côte d'Ivoire previously identified as bradyrhizobia, a polyphasic approach was applied to strains CI-1B, CI-14A, CI-19D and CI-41S. Phylogeny of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes placed these nodule isolates in a separate lineage from current species of the super clade. In phylogenetic analyses of single and concatenated partial , , , and sequences, the isolates again formed a separate lineage, with strain CI-1B sharing the highest sequence similarity (95.2 %) with SEMIA 6148. Comparative genomic analyses corroborated the novel species status, with 86 % ANIb and 89 % ANIm as the highest average nucleotide identity (ANI) values with USDA 76. Although CI-1B, CI-14A, CI-19D and CI-41S shared similar phenotypic and metabolic properties, growth of CI-41S was slower in/on various media. Symbiotic efficacy varied significantly between isolates, with CI-1B and CI-41S scoring on the 'Light-Brown' landrace as the most and least proficient bacteria, respectively. Also proficient on (mung bean), (cowpea, niébé) and additional cultivars, CI-1B represents a potential bioinoculant adapted to local soil conditions and capable of fostering the growth of diverse legume crops in Côte d'Ivoire. Given the data presented here, we propose the 19 . isolates to belong to a novel species called sp. nov., with CI-1B (=CCOS 1862=CCMM B1296) as a type strain.