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Biochemical and nucleic acid hybridisation studies on Brevibacterium linens and related strains

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Abstract

Twenty coryneform bacteria identified as Brevibacterium linens or related strains from different private and public collections were studied biochemically in respect to the composition of the cell walls and in respect to the nucleic acid hybridisation. Investigation of the cell walls revealed an identical meso-diaminopimelic acid containing directly cross-linked peptidoglycan type which is not amidated. The characteristic polymers of the polysaccharide moiety of the cell walls were found to be teichoic acids which belong to the poly(glycerolphosphate) and the poly(ribitolphosphate) type. Furthermore a novel mannitol containing teichoic acid is present which is tentatively characterized as poly(mannitolphosphate). Arabinoglactan and ribose as distinctive sugar components together with galactose and glucose in the cell walls of B. linens could not be detected in any strain.

The biochemical findings lend support to the view that B. linens and related strains form a distinctive group which is clearly distinguished from all other coryneform bacteria. This is supported by DNA-23S/16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid reassociation studies. Deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid homology studies show the incoherency of B. linens which obviously comprises two species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie der Universität München, Menzinger Straße 67, D-8000, München 19, Germany

    F. Fiedler & M. J. Schäffler

  2. Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie der Technischen Universität, Arcisstraße 21, D-8000, München 2, Germany

    E. Stackebrandt

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  1. F. Fiedler
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  2. M. J. Schäffler
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  3. E. Stackebrandt
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Fiedler, F., Schäffler, M.J. & Stackebrandt, E. Biochemical and nucleic acid hybridisation studies on Brevibacterium linens and related strains. Arch. Microbiol. 129, 85–93 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00417186

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