Enhanced nodulation and symbiotic effectiveness of Medicago truncatula when co-inoculated with Pseudomonas fluorescens WSM3457 and Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) medicae WSM419

Aims: Low numbers of rhizobia in soil or inoculants delay nodulation and decrease symbiotic legume productivity. This study investigated the effect of co-inoculation with a helper bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens WSM3457 on the Medicago truncatula - Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) medicae WSM419 symbiosis challenged by a low inoculum dose. Methods: In a glasshouse experiment the effect of co-inoculation with WSM3457 on the kinetics of nodule initiation and development was assessed 5,7,10,14,1721, and 42 days after inoculation of M. truncatula cv. Caliph with 103 cells/plant of E. medicae WSM419. Results: Co-inoculated plants had enhanced rate of nodule initiation and development, greater numbers of larger crown nodules, and by day 42 accumulated more N than plants inoculated with E. medicae WSM419 alone. Nodule development was altered by co-inoculation. Approximately 25% of nodule initials on co-inoculated plants formed in closely associated pairs, young nodules were larger with multiple meristems and developed into cluster-like multi-lobed nodules compared to those on WSM419 inoculated plants. Molecular typing showed WSM3457 occupied a significant proportion of root nodules on co-inoculated plants. Conclusion: Co-inoculation with P. fluorescens WSM3457 enhanced symbiotic effectiveness of M. truncatula when inoculated with a low inoculum dose of E. medicae WSM419

High-spin rotational structures in Kr-76

High-spin states in Kr-76(36)40 have been populated in the Ca-40(Ca-40,4p)Kr-76 fusion-evaporation reaction at abeam energy of 165 MeV and studied using the Gammasphere and Microball multidetector arrays. The ground-state band and two signature-split negative parity bands of Kr-76 have been extended to similar to 30 (h) over bar. Lifetime measurements. using the Doppler-shift attenuation method show that the transition quadrupole moment of these three bands decrease as they approach their maximum-spin states. Two signatures of a new rotational structure with remarkably rigid rotational behavior have been identified. The high-spin properties of these rotational bands are analyzed within the framework of configuration-dependent cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations