Rhizobium mesoamericanum STM3625. Rhizobium mesoamericanum STM3625

Rhizobia are nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts belonging to the alpha and beta subclasses of Proteobacteria, and the names alpha- and beta-rhizobia are being used to distinguish each other. Rhizobium mesoamericanum STM3625 is an alpha-rhizobia symbiont of Mimosa pudica, and was isolated from soils in French Guiana. This strain serves as a model bacteria for comparison of adaptation to mutualism (symbiotic traits, bacterial genetic programs for plant infection) between alpha (Rhizobium mesoamericanum) and beta-rhizobia (Burkholderia phymatum, Cupriavidus taiwanensis) all symbionts of the same plant host, Mimosa pudica.