Abstract
The relationship between modern pseudomonads andPseudomonas halocrenaea, an organism isolated from Permian salt deposits and claimed to have lived 200 million years ago, was investigated. The following features were studied: DNA base composition; variance of the compositional distribution of the DNA molecules; DNA-hybridization with two pseudomonads and a xanthomonad; pathogenicity; many morphological, physiological, biochemical and enzymic properties. The organism from salt deposits is indistinguishable, both genotypically and phenotypically, fromPseudomonas aeruginosa; it is therefore proposed to include it in the latter species and to discontinue the use of the separate species name “halocrenaea”. The claim that the halocrenaea strain would have lived in a Permian sea is discussed on the basis of molecular-biological, microbiological, chemical and evolutionary data; the evidence makes the above claim extremely unlikely. Unless it is proven beyond refute that these salt deposits have not been recently contaminated e.g. through air or penetration of ground water, “P. halocrenaea” cannot be considered to be a living fossil.
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De Ley, J., Kersters, K. & Park, I.W. Molecular-biological and taxonomic studies onPseudomonas halocrenaea, a bacterium from Permian salt deposits. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 32, 315–331 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02097474
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02097474