title: Strain, clone and species: comments on three basic concepts of bacteriology.
abstract: Different aspects of the terms strain, clone and species are discussed. The term strain is commonly used to denote a pure culture - here called 'the strain in the taxonomic sense' - but does also refer to a natural concept closely related to the clone. The term clone on the other hand is used both in a general and in a more restricted sense, the latter indicating a low degree of genetic exchange. The important distinction between the definition of a species and the criteria for a species is emphasised and the main kinds of criteria are considered.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dijkshoorn
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Centre, PO Box 9600 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands, *Department of Biochemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands and †Department of Medical Microbiology, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, S-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Ursing
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Centre, PO Box 9600 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands, *Department of Biochemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands and †Department of Medical Microbiology, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, S-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ursing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D002999:Clone Cells; D006801:Humans; D009626:Terminology as Topic