[2] B. japonicum is added to legume seed to improve crop yields,[3] particularly in areas where the bacterium is not native (e.g. Arkansas soils).

Its entire genome was sequenced in 2002, revealing that the species has a single circular chromosome with 9,105,828 base pairs.

[citation needed] B. japonicum possess the nosRZDFYLX gene, which aides in denitrification and has two catalytic subunits - Cu-a and Cu-z (with several histidine residues).

FixK1 mutants are unable to respire from nitrogen due to a defective catatylic copper subunit (Cu-z) in nosRZDFYLX.

[7] Natural genetic transformation in bacteria is a sexual process involving transfer of DNA from one cell to another through the intervening medium, and the integration of the donor sequence into the recipient genome by homologous recombination.