APPLICATION OF THE VARIABLE REGION IN 16S RDNA TO CREATE AN INDEX FORRAPID SPECIES IDENTIFICATION IN THE GENUS STREPTOMYCES

Partial nucleotide sequences (120 bp) of the 16S rRNA gene (rDNA) cont aining a variable ex region were compared in 89 strains of the genus S treptomyces belonging to eight major clusters of category I in Bergey' s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. Fifty-seven kinds of partial 16S rDNA sequences were observed among the 89 strains. Forty-three of the strains were grouped into 11 'identity groups', based on the fact that the strains in each group shared an identical sequence in the 120-bp region. The results of a phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rDNA 1 20-bp sequences revealed that 60 of the 89 strains could be categorize d into seven clusters, each consisting of four or more strains. Based on these observations it was concluded that short nucleotide sequences bearing the variable a region are useful for Streptomyces species ide ntification.