LACTOBACILLUS-SAKE KATAGIRI, KITAHARA, AND FUKAMI 1934 IS THE SENIOR SYNONYM FOR LACTOBACILLUS-BAVARICUS STETTER AND STETTER 1980

The taxonomic relationships of six strains of Lactobacillus bavaricus, including type strain 136 (= DSM 20269) and reference strain Tro-8/78 , Lactobacillus curvatus, and Lactobacillus sake were assessed by perf orming DNA-DNA hybridization experiments. We confirmed that L. curvatu s and L. sake are genotypically distinct species. However, the previou sly described differentiation of L. bavaricus from L. sake could not b e substantiated. We found that L. sake is specifically related to the type strain of L. bavaricus and all L. bavaricus reference strains exc ept ''L. bavaricus'' Tro-8/78, which is related to L. curvatus. Clearl y, strains identified as L. bavaricus Stetter and Stetter 1980 do not form a separate genotypic group, and the name L. bavaricus is a junior synonym of L. sake Katagiri, Kitahara, and Fukami 1934.