Numerical Taxonomy of Staphylococci Isolated from Clinical Sources

A total of 264 staphylococcal and micrococcal isolates from clinical specimens were examined for 62 morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics. Numerical taxonomy was used to analyze the data. Forty percent of the strains were identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis, 25% were identified as Staphylococcus saprophyticus and related species, and 9% were identified as Staphylococcus aureus; the remaining strains were a mixture of other Staphylococcus spp. and Micrococcus spp. Our results were compared with the simplified scheme of Kloos and Schleifer. The phenetic characteristics of the species groups are presented. When applied to the identification of closely similar species, both the simplified scheme and numerical taxonomy have limitations, which should be recognized when a method for taxonomic analysis is selected.