Ecology and evolution of beta-rhizobia from invaded and ancestral geographic regions

Mimosa legumes are invasive weeds in the Philippines. To determine the origins of root nodule bacteria symbionts associated with Philippine Mimosa plants, five gene loci were sequenced for 42 bacterial isolates, 32 from the native range in the Americas and 10 strains from the Philippines. Phylogenetic analyses showed that there have been multiple bacterial colonization events from the Americas into the Philippines. Further sampling of bacteria in the native range of Mimosa hosts revealed new lineages of beta-proteobacteria.