Characterization of the Root-Nodulating Rhizobia Associated with
Native and Non-Native Legumes in Hawai‘i and Their Potentials for
Restoration of Native Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) Trees
Characterization of the Root-Nodulating Rhizobia Associated with
Native and Non-Native Legumes in Hawai‘i and Their Potentials for
Restoration of Native Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) Trees
Date
2020
Authors
Abe, Jon
Contributor
Advisor
Nguyen, Nhu H.
Department
Biology
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
Legumes are highly nutritional, pod-bearing plants that account for more than a quarter of
all agricultural crops. In addition to being a staple of global diets, they are feasible alternatives
to nitrogenous fertilizers as they form a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia. Through biological
nitrogen fixation, rhizobia are able to transform N 2 gas into ammonia, a readily accessible form
for living organisms. Because nodulation of legumes is important for both agricultural and
native plants, it is imperative to understand which species of rhizobia associates with which
legumes. My objective in Part I of this project was to identify native and non-native legume-
rhizobia associations by sampling the nodules of 22 legume species across the island of ‘Oahu.
Following the isolation and culturing of the corresponding rhizobia within these nodules,
molecular techniques were used to isolate, amplify, and sequence the DNA. Nodules from 51
different leguminous individuals, including 22 different species, were sampled, yielding 20
different rhizobia strains from four different genera. On the island of ‘Oahu, Bradyrhizobium sp.
strain c020_F was found to be a generalist, forming nodules on nine different leguminous
species. My objective in Part II of this project was to develop an Erythrina sandwicensis
(wiliwili) restoration protocol using the two strains of Bradyrhizobium isolated from its roots in
Part I. This protocol tested the feasibility and effectiveness of sowing seeds into soil inoculated
by a rhizobia slurry of 10 6 rhizobia/mL. After three months, nodulated wiliwili seedlings had a
significantly larger biomass than non-nodulated seedlings. Both strains of Bradyrhizobium had a
nodulation rate of 80%; however, there were no significant differences in biomass between the
two strains. Results of this experiment suggest that soil inoculation of wiliwili seedlings yields
larger, healthier individuals and should be considered in future restoration protocols.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Extent
49 pages
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Table of Contents
Rights
All UHM Honors Projects are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.