CHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR CLASSIFICATION OF SACCHAROMONOSPORA STRAINS

The results of our experiments showed that the 5'-terminal sequences o f 23S rRNAs can be used to distinguish different genera of actinomycet es, including the genera Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Amycolatopsis, and Saccharomonospora. There are small differences (<1%) among the seq uences of some strains belonging to the genera Streptomyces (two strai ns) and Saccharomonospora (seven strains). On the basis of the results of morphological and biochemical analyses, strain 9022 belongs in the genus Saccharomonospora; however, there are distinct differences in t he cell wall compositions and the 5' termini of the 23S rRNA sequences of this strain and members of the genus Saccharomonospora. Hence, str ain 9022 cannot be classified in the genus Saccharomonospora.