Polyphasic identification of isolates of Chromobacterium sp. obtained from flooded soil

The bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum had its genome sequenced by the Genome Consortium in 2002, revealing a number of genes with potential for use in pharmacological and industrial biotechnology. However, only a few studies have been conducted to establish the molecular characterization of the different isolates of C. violaceum. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the isolates of Chromobacterium through their fatty acid profile and partial sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene. The results show that, unlike previously studied isolates, the profiles of UCP1035, UCP1489 and UCP1466 contained the saturated fatty acid palmitoleic (C16: 1). Corroborating data from the 16S rDNA phylogeny revealed that although most isolates from Chromobacterium were grouped as cluster 1 isolates, UCP1035 and UCP1466 formed monophyletic branches. The isolate UCP1489 and isolates from Chromobacterium piscinae were grouped in cluster 2. The data obtained from each Chromobacterium species in the tree showed that only the UCP1462, UCP1469 and UCP1470 isolates exhibited 100% identity with the species C. violaceum ATCC12472 and Chromobacterium pseudoviolaceum LMG3953T. These data shed light on the genetic diversity of bacteria whose genes may have biological functions but have not yet been characterized for their biotechnological potential.   Key words: Chromobacterium violaceum, Chromobacterium pseudoviolaceum, fingerprinting, fatty acids, 16S rDNA, genetic diversity.