A highly supported maximum-likelihood species phylogeny for the genus Bradyrhizobium was inferred from a supermatrix obtained from the concatenation of partial atpD, recA, glnII, and rpoB sequences corresponding to 33 reference strains and 76 bradyrhizobia isolated from the nodules of Glycine max (soybean) trap plants inoculated with soil samples from Myanmar, India, Nepal, and Vietnam. The power of the multigene approach using multiple strains per species was evaluated in terms of overall tree resolution and phylogenetic congruence, representing a practical and portable option for bacterial molecular systematics. Potential pitfalls of the approach are highlighted. Seventy-five of the isolates could be classified as B. japonicum type Ia (USDA110/ USDA122-like), B. liaoningense, B. yuanmingense, or B. elkanii, whereas one represented a novel Bradyrhizobium lineage. Most Nepalese B. japonicum Ia isolates belong to a highly epidemic clone closely related to strain USDA110. Significant phylogenetic evidence against the monophyly of the of B. japonicum I and Ia lineages was found. Analysis of their DNA polymorphisms revealed high population distances, significant genetic differentiation, and contrasting population genetic structures, suggesting that the strains in the Ia lineage are misclassified as B. japonicum. The DNA polymorphism patterns of all species conformed to the expectations of the neutral mutation and population equilibrium models and, excluding the B. japonicum Ia lineage, were consistent with intermediate recombination levels. All species displayed epidemic clones and had broad geographic and environmental distribution ranges, as revealed by mapping climate types and geographic origins of the isolates on the species tree.Soybean (Glycine max) is the most important grain legume in the world, with an annual production of around 180 million tons and a market value of more than 36 billion euros. This crop is planted on 5.7 million, 8.3 million, 29 million, and 30 million hectares in India, China, South America, and North America, respectively (66). It is a major cash crop for small farmers in Asia, in South America, and also in some African countries. The diversity of soybeans today is the result of more than 5,000 years of cultivation, which started in China, where more than 20,000 land races were selected and later globally distributed and further domesticated by modern breeding programs (4). Soybeans were introduced in India around 1000 CE via the silk route from China (26).Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Bradyrhizobium elkanii, Bradyrhizobium liaoningense, Ensifer (Sinorhizobium) fredii, Ensifer xinjiangense, and Mesorhizobium tianshanense are the microsymbionts currently known to nodulate soybeans naturally under field conditions (19,23,36,45,46,57,68). Soybean-nodulating B. japonicum strains have been isolated from different continents and climatic zones. Recently, two B. japonicum biovars (symbiotic ecotypes) were described (61). The B. japonicum bv. glycinearum isolates nodulate soybeans, whereas the B. ...

: To our knowledge, this is the first multiyear prevalence report of HPeV CNS infection in the United States. HPeV CNS infection was detected mostly in male infants with sepsis-like illness during the late summer/autumn season. Routine seasonal CSF testing in infants for HPeV plus enterovirus may improve etiologic detection and clinical management of infantile sepsis-like presentations.

Background-Human Parechovirus (HPeV) causes central nervous system (CNS) infection in infants. To further understand HPeV CNS infection, we describe its clinical, laboratory and epidemiologic characteristics from a Midwestern U.S. tertiary care center. Because HPeV CNS infections have appeared clinically and seasonally similar to enterovirus (EV) infections, we retrospectively compared characteristics of young infants undergoing sepsis evaluations in whom HPeV, EV or neither were detected in CSF.

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