There are seven names on the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names that have been treated as partial or total synonyms for strains belonging to the Enterobacter agglomerans-Herbicola group of Erwinia species complex. A total of 124 strains belonging to this complex, isolated mainly from plant and human sources, were studied by deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness and by a variety of biochemical tests. Ninety of these strains fell into 13 deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization groups (2 to 13 strains per group), and the remaining 34 strains did not fit into any hybridization group. Nine of the hybridization groups could be separated biochemically, whereas four hybridization groups could not. Our results point out the inadequacy of the classification schemes presently used for these organisms, the inadequacy of the present nomenclature, the extreme diversity of the strains presently classified in the Enterobacter agglomerans-Herbicola group of Erwinia species complex, and the need for additional, in-depth studies of these organisms.
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