An electrophoretic comparison of enzymes in strains of Gluconobacter species.

Forty-three strains of Gluconobacter species were examined for the electrophoretic comparison of six enzymes, namely, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP-dependent, EC 1.1.1.49), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (NADP-dependent, EC 1.1.1.44), glucose dehydrogenase (NADP-dependent, EC 1.1.1.119), alcohol dehydrogenase (NAD-dependent, EC 1.1.1.1), aldehyde dehydrogenase (NADP-dependent, EC 1.2.1.4), and catalase (EC 1.11.1.6). From the electrophoretic patterns of the enzymes, these organisms were unequivocally divided into two groups, Groups I and II. There was no relation between the two groups; the similarity value was 0%. Group I consists of organisms with a high guanine-plus-cytosine content of DNA ranging from 58.1 to 62.8mol%, a range of 4.7mol%. Group II is composed of organisms with a distinctly lower guanine-plus-cytosine content of DNA ranging from 54.2 to 57.6mol%, a range of 3.4mol%. Such a grouping was supported earlier by a DNA-DNA hybrid experiment. On the basis of the electrophoretic patterns of the enzymes and the DNA-DNA hybridization, we propose a new species, Gluconobacter cerinus, sp. nov., nom. rev., for the organisms classified in Group II.