Numerical Classification of Bacteria

Forty five organisms selected from 12 genera of bacteria listed in Bergey’s Manual (1957) were subjected to numerical analysis based on the two different similarity matrices representing the overall similarities of phenetic characters and the similarities of guanine + cytosine contents of DNA molecules.

The classification based on the similarities of GC-contents obtained “lump” taxa, in contrast with the classification based on the overall similarities of phenetic characters.

Rationale of the former classification is briefly discussed.     

Numerical Classification of Bacteria

Sixty three organisms selected from 12 genera of bacteria were subjected to numerical analysis. The purpose of this work is to examine the relationships among 38 coryneform bacteria included in the test organisms by two coding methods—Sneath’s and Lockhart’s systems—, and to compare the results with conventional classification. In both cases of codification, five groups and one or two single item(s) were found in the resultant classifications. Different codings brought, however, a few distinct differences in some groups, especially in a group of sporogenic bacilli or lactic-acid bacteria. So far as the present work concerns, the result obtained on Lockhart’s coding rather than that obtained on Sneath’s coding resembled the conventional classification. The taxonomic positions of corynebacteria were quite different from those of the conventional classification, regardless of which coding method was applied.

Though animal corynebacteria have conventionally been considered to occupy the taxonomic position neighboring to genera Arthrobacter and Cellulomonas and regarded to be the nucleus of so-called “coryneform bacteria,’ the present work showed that many of the corynebacteria are akin to certain mycobacteria rather than to the organisms belonging to the above two genera.     

Numerical Classification of Bacteria

It has been suggested by Sokal and Sneath that the mathematical techniques used in numerical taxonomy would effectively be applied to elucidate serological (and perhaps phylogenetic) relations among organisms. This excellent idea, however, has hitherto never come into operation. The present paper describes a mathematical method for analyzing the intensities of antigen-antibody reactions between test organisms to make clear their serological relations. Eighteen corynebacteria were examined as a test case, and a brief discussion is presented on the results obtained.     

Aciduric Proteobacteria isolated from pH 2.9 soil

Acidic (pH 2.9) soil was used as an inoculum to culture heterotrophic bacteria at pH values of 3-4. Four isolates were obtained; on the basis of 16S rDNA sequence, they were shown to be members of the beta- and gamma-Proteobacteria. The three isolates that were most closely related to Burkholderia spp. had simple nutritional requirements and could grow in glucose-mineral salts media; two of these used a broad array of organic substrates. The 16S rDNA sequence of the fourth isolate was most similar (96%) to Frateuria aurantia. The isolates were aciduric rather than acidophilic; their pH ranges for growth were approximately 3.5-8. Unlike many bacteria whose acid tolerance represents the capacity to survive acid exposure, these microorganisms carried out exponential growth at pH<4 and their growth rates at pH 3.9 ranged from 60 to 98% of those found at pH 7. The cell yields on glucose of two strains were identical at pH 4 and pH 7. The acidic soils appeared to contain a very diverse bacterial community as assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting of PCR amplicons of a portion of the 16S rDNA gene. Electronic supplementary material to this paper can be obtained by using the Springer LINK server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00203-002-0427-1.     

Isoprenoid Quinone Composition as a Guide to the Classification of Sporolactobacillus and Possibly Related Bacteria

Menaquinones with seven isoprene units were the major isoprenoid quinones detected in the chloroform-methanol extracts of representative strains of the genera Bacillus and Sporolactobacillus. Neither menaquinones nor ubiquinones were detected in similar extracts of strains of the genus Lactobacillus.     

Genotypic Heterogeneity of Streptococcus oralis and Distinct Aciduric Subpopulations in Human Dental Plaque

The genotypic heterogeneity of Streptococcus oralis isolated from the oral cavity was investigated using repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR. Unrelated subjects harbored unique genotypes, with numerous genotypes being isolated from an individual. S. oralis is the predominant aciduric bacterium isolated from noncarious tooth sites. Genotypic comparison of the aciduric populations isolated at pH 5.2 with those isolated from mitis-salivarius agar (MSA) (pH 7.0) indicated that the aciduric populations were genotypically distinct in the majority of subjects (χ² = 13.09; P = 0.0031). Neither the aciduric nor the MSA-isolated strains were stable, with no strains isolated at baseline being isolated 4 or 12 weeks later in the majority of subjects. The basis of this instability is unknown but is similar to that reported for Streptococcus mitis. Examination of S. oralis strains isolated from cohabiting couples demonstrated that in three of five couples, genotypically identical strains were isolated from both partners and this was confirmed by using Salmonella enteritidis repetitive element PCR and enterobacterial PCR typing. These data provide further evidence of the physiological and genotypic heterogeneity of non-mutans streptococci. The demonstration of distinct aciduric populations of S. oralis implies that the role of these and other non-mutans streptococci in the caries process requires reevaluation.     

细菌分类与鉴定的新热点：16S—23S rDNA间区

随着分子生物学的迅速发展,细菌的分类鉴定亦从传统的表型分类进入到各种基因型分类水平、如（G＋C）mol%、DNA杂交、rDNA指纹图、质粒图谱和16S rDNA序列分析等。rRNA存在于所有细菌中,rRNA基因由保守区和可变区组成,在细菌中高度保守。rRNA基因包含5‘端到3‘端的若干种成分,分别是16S rDNA、间区、23S rDNA、间区和 5S rDNA。16S－23S rDNA间区近年来在细菌系统发育学,特别是相近种和菌 区分和鉴定方面倍受关注。作为细菌分类和鉴定中的一个热点,本文将就16S－23S rDNA间区的一些特性及其胡细菌分类鉴定方面的作用做一简要的介绍。