Phenotypic heterogeneity in Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110

Phenotypic heterogeneity in Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Phenotypic heterogeneity in Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110 Volker Brözel, Sukhvir Sarao, Armaan Sandhu, Ryan Hanson, Tanvi Govil This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5754266/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Bacteria growing in liquid culture are assumed to be homogenous in phenotype. Characterization of individual cells shows that some clonal cultures contain more than one phenotype. Bacteria appear to employ bet hedging where various phenotypes help the species survive through environmental fluctuations. We asked whether the agriculturally significant bacterium Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110, which fixes nitrogen with soybean plants, displays phenotypic heterogeneity. We employed Percoll TM density gradient centrifugation to separate clonal populations of exponential and stationary phase B. diazoefficiens into four fractions and characterized their phenotype by proteomics. Specific phenotypes were then characterized in detail. Fractions varied by cell size, PHA content, lectin binding profile, growth rate, cellular ATP, chemotaxis, and respiration activity. Phenotypes were not heritable because the specific buoyant densities of fractions equilibrated within 10 generations. We propose that heterogeneity helps slow growing B. diazoefficiens proliferate and maintain populations in the different environments in soil and the rhizosphere. Biological sciences/Microbiology/Bacteria Biological sciences/Microbiology/Bacteriology Phenotypic heterogeneity Soybean Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110 Proteomics Bet hedging Soil Density gradient centrifugation Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files TableS1.xlsx Table S1 Supplementaryfinal.pdf Supplementary material Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5754266","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":402971214,"identity":"597eff52-3096-427b-b0b5-6c4cdda81c1a","order_by":0,"name":"Volker 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Characterization of individual cells shows that some clonal cultures contain more than one phenotype. Bacteria appear to employ bet hedging where various phenotypes help the species survive through environmental fluctuations. We asked whether the agriculturally significant bacterium Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 110, which fixes nitrogen with soybean plants, displays phenotypic heterogeneity. We employed Percoll\u003csup\u003eTM\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026nbsp;density gradient centrifugation to separate clonal populations of exponential and stationary phase B. diazoefficiens into four fractions and characterized their phenotype by proteomics. Specific phenotypes were then characterized in detail. Fractions varied by cell size, PHA content, lectin binding profile, growth rate, cellular ATP, chemotaxis, and respiration activity. Phenotypes were not heritable because the specific buoyant densities of fractions equilibrated within 10 generations. 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