ZOOGLOEA-RAMIGERA - A PHYLOGENETICALLY DIVERSE SPECIES

Comparative sequence analysis of in vitro amplified 16S rRNA genes fro m three strains of Zoogloea ramigera demonstrated that they are phylog enetically quite diverse. Based on the 16S rRNA studies and on chemota xonomic data from the literature it is now evident that Z. ramigera st rain I-16-M (ATCC 19623, WS 1610), the former type strain, belongs to the alpha subclass of Proteobacteria, whereas the two other strains, A TCC 19544T (neotype strain) and ATCC 25935, are members of the beta su bclass. Therefore, Z. ramigera strain I-16-M (ATCC 19623) has to be ex cluded from the genus Zoogloea since it does not belong to the same pr oteobacterial subclass as the type strain of the species Z. ramigera. Differences in their 16S rRNA sequences, in phenotypic and chemotaxono mic properties indicate that Z. ramigera strains ATCC 19544 and ATCC 2 5935 should be placed in different species.