Wautersia gen. nov., a novel genus accommodating the phylogenetic lineage including Ralstonia eutropha and related species, and proposal of Ralstonia Pseudomonas syzygii (Roberts et al. 1990) comb. nov.

Comparative 16S rDNA sequence analysis indicates that two distinct sublineages, with a sequence dissimilarity of >4 % (bootstrap value, 100 %), exist within the genus RALSTONIA: the Ralstonia eutropha lineage, which comprises Ralstonia basilensis, Ralstonia campinensis, R. eutropha, Ralstonia gilardii, Ralstonia metallidurans, Ralstonia oxalatica, Ralstonia paucula, Ralstonia respiraculi and Ralstonia taiwanensis; and the Ralstonia pickettii lineage, which comprises Ralstonia insidiosa, Ralstonia mannitolilytica, R. pickettii, Ralstonia solanacearum and Ralstonia syzygii comb. nov. (previously Pseudomonas syzygii). This phylogenetic discrimination is supported by phenotypic differences. Members of the R. eutropha lineage have peritrichous flagella, do not produce acids from glucose and are susceptible to colistin, in contrast to members of the R. pickettii lineage, which have one or more polar flagella, produce acid from several carbohydrates and are colistin-resistant. Members of the R. pickettii lineage are viable for up to 6 days on tryptic soy agar at 25 degrees C, whereas members of the R. eutropha lineage are viable for longer than 9 days. It is proposed that species of the R. eutropha lineage should be classified in a novel genus, Wautersia gen. nov. Finally, based on the literature and new DNA-DNA hybridization data, it is proposed that Pseudomonas syzygii should be renamed Ralstonia syzygii comb. nov.