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Abstract
Although application of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) reassociation techniques to the classification of vibrios has only recently been employed and, hence, complete data are unavailable, several generalizations regarding the results of such studies can be made. (i) Vibrio cholerae, V. anguillarum, and V. parahaemolyticus show intraspecies polynucleotide sequence variation from 80 to 100% and interspecies relatedness of approximately 20 to 30%. V. parahaemolyticus shows similar intraspecies variation and interspecies relatedness with V. cholerae and V. anguillarum, but considerably higher (60 to 70%) levels of relatedness to V. alginolyticus. It is not possible, at the present time, to place great reliance on other strain or species relatedness for the vibrios. (ii) Very little or no polynucleotide sequence relationship has been demonstrated between members of the genus Vibrio and the genera Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Zymomonas, Cytophaga, and Escherichia. (iii) Based on the results of the majority of the reciprocal reactions presented, there appears to be no significant influence of genome size on DNA reassociation determinations within the genus Vibrio. Nonpathogenic marine vibrios constitute a particularly heterogeneous group with, as yet, no well-defined species.
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