Geographical patterns of root nodule bacterial diversity in rooibos (Aspalathus linearis)

Rooibos is an economically important legume crop that contains extant wild populations adjacent to plantations across its distribution range. Whether the communities of symbiotic root nodule bacteria, predominantly nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, differ between cultivated and wild rooibos is still unclear. The aim of this study was to describe the root nodule communities in cultivated and wild rooibos populations spanning a large distribution area, and to relate those communities to the ecophysiological status of rooibos plants.