Clostridium argentinense sp. nov.: a Genetically Homogeneous Group Composed of All Strains of Clostridium botulinum Toxin Type G and Some Nontoxigenic Strains Previously Identified as Clostridium subterminale or Clostridium hastiforme
We determined deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) relatedness among toxigenic strains of Clostridium botulinum toxin type G and nontoxigenic strains labeled Clostridium subterminale and Clostridium hastiforme by using the hydroxyapatite method at 50 and 65°C. Seven DNA hybridization groups were detected. All of the strains were anaerobic, gram-positive, rod shaped, asaccharolytic, and proteolytic; produced acetic, butyric, isobutyric, and isovaleric acids; and were separable by additional phenotypic characteristics into the seven hybridization groups. One hybridization group was composed of all nine C. botulinum type G strains, two strains received as C. subterminale, and one strain received as C. hastiforme. These strains showed an average level of intragroup relatedness of 94% and were less than 25% related to the type strains of C. botulinum (BL 4847), C. subterminale (BL 4856), and C. hastiforme (BL 4858). The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of four strains in this group were 28 to 30 mol%. A new species, Clostridium argentinense, is proposed for the genotypically homogeneous group that is unrelated to the strains of C. botulinum and other clostridial species which we studied. The type strain of C. argentinense sp. nov. is strain ATCC 27322. Two of the six other DNA hybridization groups are represented by the type strains of C. subterminale and C. hastiforme. The four remaining DNA hybridization groups represent undescribed species that contain one or two strains each.
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Clostridium argentinense sp. nov.: a Genetically Homogeneous Group Composed of All Strains of Clostridium botulinum Toxin Type G and Some Nontoxigenic Strains Previously Identified as Clostridium subterminale or Clostridium hastiforme