The identification of Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains isolated from Italian soils

Pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PYMS) and PCR using arbitrary primers were used to characterize strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum isolated from fields in northern Italy. The combination of techniques allowed us to identify bacteria derived from inoculants and to demonstrate that information about the nature of one inoculant was incorrect. PYMS also indicated that the derivatives from one inoculant formed two distinct populations: one like the parent strain and the other altered phenotypically.