Abstract
Of 38 strains ofPropionibacterium avidum, most fell into one of two groups. One group (20 strains) hadLl-diaminopimelic acid as the diaminoacid of peptidoglycan, did not ferment inositol, and reacted with serum to strain VPI 0576; the other group (11 strains) hadDl-diaminopimelic acid as the peptidoglycan diaminoacid, fermented inositol, and reacted with serum to strain VPI 0670. DNA sequence similarity studies showed that, while overall intergroup similarity was about 80%, within each group the sequence similarities were over 90%. Seven strains were anomalous and did not fit exactly into either group.
The results show that the isomer of diaminopimelic acid in peptidoglycan may differ in strains of a single species all of which show at least 80% DNA sequence similarity to each other.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Antia M, Hoare DS, Work E (1957) The stereo-isomers of diaminopimelic acid. 3. Properties and distribution of diaminopimelic acid racemase, an enzyme causing interconversion of theLl- andmeso-isomers. Biochem J 65:448–459
Cummins CS (1975) Identification ofPropionibacterium acnes and related organisms by precipitin tests with trichloroacetic acid extracts. J Clin Microbiol 2:104–110
Cummins CS, Johnson JL (1986)Propionibacterium. In: Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology, 1st edn, vol 2. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, pp 1346–1353
Cummins CS, White RH (1983) Isolation, identification and synthesis of 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxyglucuronic acid: a component ofPropionibacterium acnes cell wall polysaccharide. J Bacteriol 153:1388–1393
Duguid JP (1951) The demonstration of bacterial capsules and slime. J Pathol Bacteriol 63:673–685
Holdeman LV, Cato EP, Moore WEC (1977) Anaerobe laboratory manual, 4th edn. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State University
Johnson JL (1981) Genetic characterization. In: Gerhardt P (ed), Manual of methods for general bacteriology. Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology, pp 450–472
Johnson JL, Cummins CS (1972) Cell wall composition and deoxyribonucleic acid similarities among the anaerobic coryneforms, classical propionibacteria and strains ofArachnia propionica. J Bacteriol 109:1047–1066
Kandler O, Weiss N (1986)Lactobacillus. In: Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology, 1st edn, vol 2. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, pp 1208–1234
McGinley KJ, Webster GF, Leyden JJ (1978) Regional variation of cutaneous propionibacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 35:62–66
Murray MG, Thompson WF (1980) Rapid isolation of high molecular weight plant DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 8:4321–4325
Perkins HR (1965) 2,6-Diamino-3-hydroxypimelic acid in microbial cell wall mucopeptide. Nature 208:872–873
Selin YM, Harich B, Johnson JL (1983) Preparation of labelled nucleic acids [nick translation and iodination] for DNA homology and rRNA hybridization experiments. Curr Microbiol 8:127–132
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goodsell, M.E., Toth, J., Johnson, J.L. et al. Two types ofPropionibacterium avidum with different isomers of diaminopimelic acid. Current Microbiology 22, 225–230 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02092313
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02092313