RECLASSIFICATION OF PAENIBACILLUS (FORMERLY BACILLUS) PULVIFACIENS (NAKAMURA 1984) ASH ET-AL 1994, A LATER SUBJECTIVE SYNONYM OF PAENIBACILLUS (FORMERLY BACILLUS) LARVAE (WHITE 1906) ASH ET-AL 1994, AS A SUBSPECIES OF PAENIBACILLUS-LARVAE, WITH EMENDED DESCRIPTIONS OF PAENIBACILLUS-LARVAE AS PAENIBACILLUS-LARVAE SUBSP LARVAE AND PAENIBACILLUS-LARVAE SUBSP PULVIFACIENS

A polyphasic taxonomic study of four strains of Paenibacillus larvae a nd four strains of Paenibacillus pulvifaciens (including duplicates of both type strains) supported the reclassification of both former Baci llus species into one species, P, larvae, Our conclusions were based o n morphological and Analytab Products (API) tests, sodium dodecyl sulf ate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of whole-cell protei ns, gas chromatography of methylated fatty acids, pyrolysis mass spect rometry, DNA-DNA binding, and the following genomic fingerprinting met hods: amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis, random amplified p olymorphic DNA analysis, and AFLP analysis, The last method is a novel high-resolution DNA fingerprinting technique based on the selective a mplification of restriction fragments, Despite more than 90% DNA relat edness between the strains studied, SDS-PAGE of whole-cell proteins, b iochemical tests, and DNA fingerprinting (AFLP) distinguished between the P. larvae and P, pulvifaciens strains at the subspecies level, Tak ing this evidence along with differences in pathogenicity, we propose to reclassify the honeybee pathogens P, larvae and P. pulvifaciens as P, larvae subsp, larvae and P, larvae subsp, pulvifaciens.;in emended description of the species and descriptions of the subspecies are give n, The type strains are P, larvae subsp, larvae ATCC 9545 (LMG 9820) a nd P, larvae subsp, pulvifaciens NRRL B-3685 (LMG 6911 and;ATCC 13537) .