Abstract
The 16S rDNA sequence of Bradyrhizobium liaoningense was determined and analysed together with sequences of other Bradyrhizobium species and related taxa. In addition, DNA--DNA hybridizations were performed between representative strains of the three Bradyrhizobium species. Bradyrhizobium liaoningense is genotypically highly related to Bradyrhizobium japonicum, whereas Bradyrhizobium elkanii is more distantly related to these two species. The fact that Afipia, Agromonas, Blastobacter, Nitrobacter and Rhodopseudomonas are phylogenetically more closely related to Bradyrhizobium japonicum than to Bradyrhizobium elkanii is discussed.