Genetic Identification of Members of the Genus Corynebacterium at Genus and Species Levels with 16S rDNA‐Targeted Probes

Abstract

16S rRNA gene-targeted probes were designed for the identification of corynebacteria at the genus and species levels. The genus-specific probe hybridized all clinically important members of the genus Corynebacterium and could distinguish them from other coryneform bacteria and phylogenetically related high G C% gram-positive bacteria, including Actinomyces, Rhodococcus, Gordona, Nocardia, Streptomyces, Brevibacterium and Mycobacterium. The species-specific probes for C. jeikeium and C. diphtheriae could differentiate these two species from other members of this genus. The probes were used to select corynebacteria among gram-positive clinical isolates which had been tentatively identified as corynebacteria by biochemical tests. We screened 59 strains with the genus-specific probe; 51 strains hybridized to the genus-specific probe, 8 did not. Of the 51 strains that hybridized to the genus-specific probe, 1 hybridized to the C. diphtheriae species probe and 13 hybridized to the C. jeikeium species probe. The 8 strains that did not hybridize to the genus probe were further characterized by analyzing cell wall diaminopimelic acid and partial 16S rRNA sequencing. The results indicated that these strains were distributed in the genera Arthrobacter and Brevibacterium.

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis: microbiology, biochemical properties, pathogenesis and molecular studies of virulence

“…They also The role of C. pseudotuberculosis in pathogenesis 207 concluded that the equi and ovis biovars of C. pseudotuberculosis should not be classified as subspecies, due to their high genomic similarity. In two other independent studies [54,107], C. pseudotuberculosis was found to be closely related to C. ulcerans.…”

“…Molecular methods, including nucleic acid hybridization and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, have been used to determine the degree of relatedness of many different corynebacterial species and strains [54,62,95,107]. Riegel et al [95] found that some strains of C. pseudotuberculosis and C. ulcerans belong to a monophyletic group, based on phylogenetic analysis of small-subunit rDNA sequences that are only found in the CMN group.…”

Design of cluster-specific 16S rDNA oligonucleotide probes to identify bacteria of the Bacteroides subgroup harbored in human feces

“…Such clusters basically correspond to genera. In other genera such as Bi¢dobacterium and Corynebacterium, genusspeci¢c probes have been developed and successfully used for identi¢cation without biological and biochemical testings [21,22]. Since no adequate sequence included in all species of the Bacteroides cluster has been found, two probes for the Bacteroides cluster, the Bac and the bacvul, were proposed.…”

ABrevibacterium lactofermentum16S rRNA gene used as target site for homologous recombination

“…Extensive studies of ribosomal RNA genes of members of the genera Corynebacterium and Brevibacterium have revealed their high degree of sequence conservation and genetic identification, at the genus and/or species levels, this has been done with techniques such as pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) [7], sequencing of an insertion present within their 23S rRNA genes [8], analysis of the rRNA restriction patterns [4], by using of 16S rDNA‐targeted probes [9] and by 16S rDNA sequencing [10]. We are studying the possibility that 16S rDNA genes may serve as vehicles for the genetic horizontal transfer between bacteria.…”