Potential nodule- forming bacteria-
We were not able to isolate Ensifer from any of our historic specimens, only from the contemporary Medicago . Although E. meliloti has been described as desiccation tolerant, Ensifer do not generally produce any spores or cysts (Humann et al. 2009), which potentially limited their ability to survive in the extreme conditions of the herbaria. We were able to isolate potential nodule-formingMicrovirga from the nodules of specimens from 2004 and 2015. Nodule forming Microvirga form nodules in several legume species, including Listia , Lupinus (Ardley et al. 2012, 2013), andVigna (Radl et al. 2014). Future work will include sequencing the rest of our culture collection and increasing our temporal resolution by sampling more specimens, from more dates, allowing us to definitively say how long Ensifer can survive in herbaria. Additionally, we will investigate if historic Microvirga isolated from herbaria nodules can nodulate and benefit Medicago lupulina .