Intraspecific diversity of Brevibacterium linens,
Corynebacterium glutamicum and Rhodococcus
erythropolis based on partial 16S rDNA sequence analysis
and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy
Helene Oberreuter, Joachim Charzinski and Siegfried Scherer
Microbiology, 148, 2002, pp. 1523-1532
Abstract
The intraspecific diversity of 31 strains of Brevibacterium linens,
27 strains of Corynebacterium glutamicum and 29 strains of
Rhodococcus erythropolis was determined by partial 16S rDNA
sequence analysis and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.
As a prerequisite for the analyses, 27 strains derived from culture collections
which had carried invalid or wrong species denotations were reclassified
in accordance with polyphasic taxonomical data. FT-IR spectroscopy proved to be
a rapid and reliable method for screening for similar isolates and for
identifying
these actinomycetes at the species level. Two main conclusions emerged from
the analyses. (1) Comparison of intraspecific 16S rDNA similarities
suggested that R. erythropolis strains have a very low diversity,
B. linens displays high diversity and C. glutamicum
occupies an intermediate position. (2) No correlation of FT-IR
spectral similarity and 16S rDNA sequence similarity below the species
level (i.e., between strains of one species) was observed. Therefore,
diversification of 16S rDNA sequences and microevolutionary change
of the cellular components detected by FT-IR spectroscopy appear to be
de-coupled.
Keywords
coryneform bacteria, actinomycetes, 16S rDNA sequence analysis,
identification, taxonomy, intraspecific diversity, FT-IR spectroscopy