Numerical Taxonomy and Laboratory Identification of Actinomyces and Arachnia and some Related Bacteria

Abstract

SUMMARYA numerical taxonomic study was made on 49 facultative anaerobic Grampositive filamentous and/or diphtheroidal organisms isolated from dental plaques, carious dentin and faeces, together with 63 reference strains belonging to the genera Actinomyces, Arachnia, B$dobacteriurn, Actinobacterium, Propionibacterium, Eubacterium and Lactobacillus. They were examined for 90 unit characters covering a wide range of tests and properties. The data were subjected to computer analysis in which the simple matching coefficient (&J and the similarity index (S,) were calculated, and the results of single linkage techniques and an unweighted average linkage cluster analysis technique were compared.The strains fell into six major groups (phena). The Actinomyces strains were recovered in two phena; the first contained Actinomyces israelii and the other facultative anaerobic Actinomyces, including subclusters equal to taxospecies of A. odontolyticus and A. viscosus/A. naeslundii, while the other phenon corresponded to the genera Arachnia, Actinobacterium, Bijdobacterium and Propionibacteriurn. The groups of Arachnia and Actinobacterium each contained one species, representing taxospecies of Arachnia propionica and Actinobacteriurn rneyerii. Taxonomic criteria, both constant and discriminative, were selected to form a diagnostic table useful for laboratory identification of this group of organisms. Immunofluorescence supported the numerical data. I N T R O D U C T I O NThe classification of Gram-positive diphtheroidal and/or filamentous organisms belonging to the family Actinomycetaceae and related genera is beset with many difficulties. The lines of demarcation between the actinomycete genera, and between them and related genera such as Propionibacteriurn and Actinobacterium, are not clear. Current taxonomic ideas concerning the family Actinomycetaceae and related organisms, and the physiology and structure of these organisms in relation to their classification and phylogenetic relationships were recently reviewed by Pine (1970) and by Cross & Goodfellow (1973).Few analyses have used numerical taxonomy for the classification of actinomycetes (Sneath, 1970

Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis of Whole-Cell Preparations of Actinomyces spp.

“…A. naeslundii and A . viscosus are closely related phenotypically, demonstrating about the same degree ofrelatedness in numerical studies as the two serotypes of A. israelii do (10). Rodent strains of A. viscosus are different from human isolates serologically and in some other ways.…”

“…Rodent strains of A. viscosus are different from human isolates serologically and in some other ways. Simply combining A. naeslundii and A. viscosus into a single species does not appear to solve the problem since subclusters within each species occur in numerical studies (9,10,16). Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-DNA homology studies support division of A. naeslundii and A .…”

“…Two numerical taxonomy studies (10,16) suggest that Actinomyces israelii may deserve recognition as a separate genus. These studies and others (6, 9) raise questions concerning the species Actinomyces naeslundii and Actinomyces viscosus.…”

Partial 16S rRNA primary structure of five Actinomyces species: phylogenetic implications and development of an Actinomyces israelii-specific oligonucleotide probe

“…viscosus and A . naeslundii has been recognized previously in serological (Collins et al, 1973;Holmberg & Forsum 1973;Gerencser & Slack, 1967) and numerical taxonomic (Holmberg & Nord, 1975;Fillery et al, 1978; studies. confirmed that these were independent, although closely related, species ;Coykendall & Munzenmaier (1979) reached the same conclusion in a study of DNA reassociation values.…”

The Effect of Supragingival Plaque Control on the Composition of the Subgingival Microbial Flora in Ligature-induced Periodontitis in the Monkey

“…Institute Anaerobe Laboratory Manual (Holdeman, Cato and Moore, 1977;Loesche andGibbons, 1965, Holmberg andNord, 1975;Holbrook, Duerden and Deacon, 1977;Facklam, 1977;Komman and Loesche, 1980 On primary isolation plates, BPB could easily be detected due to their brown pigmentation and their colony morphology. They grow as highly convex and entire colonies, with a diameter of 1 to 2 mm., whereas the also pigmented A. odontolyticus appears as a very flat entire colony with a more reddish brown pigment and a diameter of 2-3 rom.…”