Open AccessGenomic heterogeneity in Chlorobium limicola : chromosomic and plasmidic differences among strains
Author(s) -
MéndezAlvarez Sebastián,
Pavón Victoria,
Esteve Isabel,
Guerrero Ricardo,
Gaju Núria
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1995.tb07951.x
Subject(s) - thiosulfate , biology , subspecies , plasmid , genetics , bacteria , strain (injury) , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , sulfur , chemistry , organic chemistry , anatomy , paleontology
Chromosome analysis by pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis shows a high level of genetic heterogeneity between the two subspecies of the green sulfur bacteria Chlorobium limicola analysed: C. limicola and C. limicola f. s. thiosulfatophilum . Currently, they are differentiated only by the ability to utilize thiosulfate as photosynthetic electron donor, and by their %G + C content (51% and 58.1%, respectively). However, the capacity to utilize thiosulfate as photosynthetic electron donor does not appear to be a useful criterion to differentiate between some strains of this species, because this jability is encoded by plasmids that are different depending on the thiosulfatophilum strain analysed. In contrast, this study reveals that the comparison of chromosomal restriction patterns is very useful as an additional aid for the differentiation and identification of C. limicola strains.