Lupinus mariae-josephi isa recently described endemic Lupinus species from a small area in Eastern Spain where it thrives in soils with active lime and high pH. The L. mariae-josephi root symbionts were shown to be very slow-growing bacteria with different phenotypic and symbiotic characteristics from those of Bradyrhizobium strains nodulating other Lupinus. Their phylogenetic status was examined by multilocus sequence analyses of four housekeeping genes (16S rRNA, glnl I, recA, and atpD) and showed the existence of a distinct evolutionary lineage for L. mariae-josephi thatalso included Bradyrhizobiumjicamae. Within this lineage, the tested isolates clustered in three different sub-groups that might correspond to novel sister Bradyrhizobium species. These core gene analyses consistently showed that all the endosymbiotic bacteria isolated from other Lupinus species of the Iberian Peninsula were related to strains of the B. canariense or B. japonicum lineages and were separate from the L. mariae-josephi isolates. Phylogenetic analysis based on nodC symbiotic gene sequences showed that L. mariae-josephi bacteria also constituted a new symbiotic lineage distant from those previously defined in the genus Bradyrhizobium. In contrast, the nodC genes of isolates from other Lupinus spp. from the Iberian Peninsula were again clearly related to the B. canariense and B. japonicum bv. genistearum lineages. Speciation of L. mariae-josephi bradyrhizobia may result from the colonization of a singular habitat by their unique legume host.

Summary• Sylleptic branching in trees may increase significantly branch number, leaf area and the general growth of the tree, particularly in its early years. Although this is a very important trait, so far little is known about the genes that control this process.• This article characterizes the Castanea sativa RAV1 gene, homologous to Arabidopsis TEM genes, by analyzing its circadian behavior and examining its winter expression in chestnut stems and buds. Transgenic hybrid poplars over-expressing CsRAV1 or showing RNA interference down-regulated PtaRAV1 and PtaRAV2 expression were produced and analyzed.• Over-expression of the CsRAV1 gene induces the early formation of sylleptic branches in hybrid poplar plantlets during the same growing season in which the lateral buds form. Only minor growth differences and no changes in wood anatomy are produced.• The possibility of generating trees with a greater biomass by manipulating the CsRAV1 gene makes CsRAV1 transgenic plants promising candidates for bioenergy production.