International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes, Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Rhizobia and Agrobacteria, minutes of the annual meeting by videoconference, 5 July 2021, followed by online discussion until 31 December 2021

Peer reviewe

Revised taxonomy of the family Rhizobiaceae, and phylogeny of mesorhizobia nodulating Glycyrrhiza spp.

ABSTRACT Studies of the taxonomy of bacteria were initiated in the last quarter of the 19th century when bacteria were classified in six genera placed in four tribes based on their morphological appearance. Since then the taxonomy of bacteria has been revolutionized several times. At present, 30 phyla belong to the domain Bacteria , which includes over 9600 species. Unlike many eukaryotes, bacteria lack complex morphological characters and practically phylogenetically informative fossils. It is partly due to these reasons that bacterial taxonomy is complicated. Due to the improvement of methods to obtain sequence level characters plus new methods for their analyses, the taxonomy of bacteria has also been improved. However, there is still no official classification of prokaryotes. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a process in which bacteria reduce inert nitrogen gas to biologically useful ammonia. The symbiotic interaction between rhizobia and legumes (Fabaceae or Leguminosae) is important both in natural systems and in agriculture. Rhizobia is a general name for a group of bacteria that can enter symbiosis with legumes. Until 1982, all these were classified into one single bacterial genus, Rhizobium. The number of rhizobial genera increased to 17 by the year 2011, from which five genera, Rhizobium, Allorhizobium, Agrobacterium, Ensifer (syn. Sinorhizobium), and Shinella were accommodated in the family Rhizobiaceae. The genus Agrobacterium, a group of mostly pathogenic bacteria, was placed among the beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia) in the family Rhizobiaceae. That resulted in several taxonomic issues regarding the family Rhizobiaceae. The main nomenclatural issue regarding the genus Agrobacterium resulted from transferring this genus to the genus Rhizobium. Moreover, the phylogenetic position of the former nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium galegae complex was not clear. This group of bacteria was in previous studies clustered with either Agrobacterium or Rhizobium or placed in a lineage separately from other genera of the family Rhizobiaceae. During the last decade, the number of the rhizobial species increased dramatically, especially in the genus Rhizobium. However, Rhizobium is an inappropriate genus name for some of the species assigned to the genus. To resolve some of the major taxonomic uncertainties of the family Rhizobiaceae, two separate multilocus sequencing analyses (MLSA) were performed. In the first study, an MLSA of 114 rhizobial strains was performed by using six housekeeping genes (atpD, glnA, glnII, recA, rpoB, and thrC). The first MLSA study was focusing on the phylogeny of the taxa belonging to the former Rhizobium galegae complex and the genus Agrobacterium. In the second MLSA, a total of 100 strains representing 81 species of the family Rhizobiaceae were studied using four housekeeping genes namely 16S rRNA, atpD, recA, and rpoB. Based on these results, we proposed delineation of two new genera, Neorhizobium gen. nov. and Pararhizobium gen. nov., and 16 new species combinations, Neorhizobium galegae comb. nov., Neorhizobium huautlense comb. nov., Neorhizobium alkalisoli comb. nov., Agrobacterium nepotum comb. nov., Agrobacterium pusense comb. nov., Agrobacterium skierniewicense comb. nov., Allorhizobium vitis comb. nov., Allorhizobium taibaishanense comb. nov., Allorhizobium paknamense comb. nov., Allorhizobium oryzae comb. nov., Allorhizobium pseudoryzae comb. nov., Allorhizobium borbori comb. nov., Pararhizobium giardinii comb. nov., Pararhizobium capsulatum comb. nov., Pararhizobium herbae comb. nov., and Pararhizobium sphaerophysae comb. nov. (Paper I and II). A total of 159 bacterial strains were isolated from the nodules of the Chinese specimens of the plant genus Glycyrrhiza L. The results of the study showed that 29 true symbiotic strains belong to the genus Mesorhizobium. To estimate the phylogenetic position of the 29 isolates an MLSA was performed for 59 mesorhizobial strains by using three housekeeping genes 16S rRNA, recA, and rpoB. Moreover, the phylogeny of three symbiotic genes (nodA, nodC, and nifH) of these 59 mesorhizobial strains was investigated. The results of MLSA showed that 21 test strains belong to the species M. tianshanense, M. gobiense, M. temperatum, M. muleiense, M. amorphae, M. alhagi, and M. camelthorni, whereas eight test strains might belong to a novel species of Mesorhizobium. The results of the analyses of accessory genes in this study showed that the mesorhizobial strains isolated from the plant genus Glycyrrhiza have probably acquired some genetic material from other rhizobia co-evolving with Glycyrrhiza and other legumes (Paper III).

Focus Group Discussion: A Method of Problem Solving in Nursing

Background & Objective: Focus group discussions are a way to solve problems in nursing. A great extent of information on the specific issues and problems of nursing can be obtained through the activity of members in this method. The aim of this study was to review studies conducted using this method as a problem solving method in nursing. Methods: This study was a descriptive review on the objectives, processes, and applications of focus group discussion regarding problem solving in nursing. The databases of Iranmedex, Magiran, SID, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Elsevier, Google Scholar, and PubMed were searched using the keyword of focus group, group interviews, nursing, and focus group discussion for publication in the years 1998-2015. Results: A focus group is a semi-structured group session which is moderated by a group leader and held in an informal setting to collect information about a designated topic. A focus group discussion is an interview with emphasis on interaction between the participants, and the data generated is very difficult to achieve through individual interviews or participant observation. The main components of a focus group include a skilled moderator, appropriately selected participants, appropriate place and time, and correct implementation of the process. Tape recording and verbatim transcription along with field notes are the usual methods of documenting data in focus groups. Conclusion: Focus group discussion consists of a series of carefully planned discussions designed to obtain perceptions on a defined area of interest in a permissive, non-threatening environment. Cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and stimulating are some of the features of focus group discussions which can generate very useful information. Key Words: Focus group, Group interviews, Qualitative research, Focus group discussio

The role of electronic data interchange in electronic commerce

At the beginning of the third millennium, the world has experienced a new era. Rapid and extensive changes in all aspects have developed communications wider and faster. Commerce is not an exception in this regard and has widely and quickly changed as well. With the growth of internet and popularization of electronic commerce and lack of need to invest much in implementing electronic commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises and organizations, EDI users have been prompted to direct their business process flow towards electronic commerce and make use of it as a tool for changing organizations operating methods. In this process, not only are paper-based transactions eliminated, but also changes are emphasized to be made in the way organizations conduct transactions with their commercial parties which in turn will restructure processes within the organizations. Indeed, the optimal productivity and efficiency are achieved when this technology is implemented after complete investigation and analysis of intra-organizational processes and even after the implementation such processes should be constantly reviewed and restructured. This paper has introduced electronic data interchange and has studied its role in electronic commerce and its implementation restrictions

The role of electronic data interchange in electronic commerce

At the beginning of the third millennium, the world has experienced a new era. Rapid and extensive changes in all aspects have developed communications wider and faster. Commerce is not an exception in this regard and has widely and quickly changed as well. With the growth of internet and popularization of electronic commerce and lack of need to invest much in implementing electronic commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises and organizations, EDI users have been prompted to direct their business process flow towards electronic commerce and make use of it as a tool for changing organizations operating methods. In this process, not only are paper-based transactions eliminated, but also changes are emphasized to be made in the way organizations conduct transactions with their commercial parties which in turn will restructure processes within the organizations. Indeed, the optimal productivity and efficiency are achieved when this technology is implemented after complete investigation and analysis of intra-organizational processes and even after the implementation such processes should be constantly reviewed and restructured. This paper has introduced electronic data interchange and has studied its role in electronic commerce and its implementation restrictions

The relationship between job burnout and job performance of clinical nurses in Shiraz Shahid Rajaei hospital (thruma) in 2016

Background and aims: Nursing is one the critical job in society and nurses pass an important part of their life in close relation with people and patients and optimal job operation guarantees health and improving many patients and people of society. So, identifying the effective factors on performance of nurses and trying to promote and improve them is so important. This study has been aimed to determine the interrelationship of job burnout and job performance of clinical nurses. Methods: The current study is interrelation study type which is performed by sectional method and the research society is all the nurses of Shiraz Shahid Rajaei hospital. 150 persons of the nurses were entered to the study by method of head counting and according to the criterions of entry. In order to collect data, three questioners of Demographic characteristics, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Paterson Job Performance were used. Validity and reliability (0.90) and (0.84) of the two tools were confirmed in the similar studies in the country. The data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software and by using statistical independent T-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: The findings show the frequency and intensity of job burnout respectively, with average of 21.37±1.55, 22.3±0.29 and job performance of nurses with average of 45.86±7.15. The results of Pearson’s correlation coefficient show that there is a negative and significant relation between job burnout and job performance of nurses (r=-0.52, P≤0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study show that there is a negatively significant and direct relationship between job burnout and job performance of nurses and as high rate of job burnout can lead to a reduction in job performance. So, it is recommended to improve their job performance and increase the patients’ satisfaction and finally enhance nursing care by adjusting the causes of job burnout

International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes, Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Rhizobia and Agrobacteria, minutes of the annual meeting by videoconference, 5 July 2021, followed by online discussion until 31 December 2021.

Minutes of the closed meeting of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Rhizobia and Agrobacteria held by videoconference, 5 July 2021, followed by online discussion until 31 December 2021, and list of recent species

Using amplicon sequencing of rpoB for identification of inoculant rhizobia from peanut nodules

To improve the nitrogen fixation, legume crops are often inoculated with selected effective rhizobia. However, there is large variation in how well the inoculant strains compete with the indigenous microflora in soil. To assess the success of the inoculant, it is necessary to distinguish it from other, closely related strains. Methods used until now have generally been based either on fingerprinting methods or on the use of reporter genes. Nevertheless, these methods have their shortcomings, either because they do not provide sufficiently specific information on the identity of the inoculant strain, or because they use genetically modified organisms that need prior authorization to be applied in the field or other uncontained environments. Another possibility is to target a gene that is naturally present in the bacterial genomes. Here we have developed a method that is based on amplicon sequencing of the bacterial housekeeping gene rpoB, encoding the beta-subunit of the RNA polymerase, which has been proposed as an alternative to the 16S rRNA gene to study the diversity of rhizobial populations in soils. We evaluated the method under laboratory and field conditions. Peanut seeds were inoculated with various Bradyrhizobium strains. After nodule development, DNA was extracted from selected nodules and the nodulating rhizobia were analysed by amplicon sequencing of the rpoB gene. The analyses of the sequence data showed that the method reliably identified bradyrhizobial strains in nodules, at least at the species level, and could be used to assess the competitiveness of the inoculant compared to other bradyrhizobia.Peer reviewe

Characterization of Agrobacterium radiobacter, a new pathogen of pistachio

Crown and stem gall caused by agrobacterial species is one of the most devastating diseases on different crops worldwide. In spring 2018, an alert concerning a disease forming galls on seedlings of pistachio in nurseries was received from Rafsanjan county, Kerman province, Iran. After isolation of bacteria from the galls by using conventional bacteriological methods, bacterial colonies were purified and selected for further analyses including biochemical, pathogenicity and molecular tests. Pathogenicity tests of all isolates on test plants and carrot discs were evaluated positive. Based on the results of biochemical and pathogenicity tests, supported by molecular phylogenies of housekeeping and pathogenicity genes, the isolates were identified as Agrobacterium radiobacter. Since agrobacteria could be easily spread through seedlings and agricultural materials between different areas, the identified Agrobacterium strains could be considered as a latent threat to the pistachio nurseries of Iran. The present study is the first report on the occurrence of crown and stem gall on pistachio caused by A. radiobacter worldwide.Peer reviewe