title: Erwinia tasmaniensis sp. nov., a non-phytopathogenic bacterium from apple and pear trees.
abstract: Bacteria were isolated from flowers and bark of apple and pear trees at three places in Australia. In Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland, strains with white colonies on nutrient agar were screened for dome-shaped colony morphology on agar with sucrose and were found to be closely related by several criteria. The isolates were not pathogenic on apples or pears. They were characterized by a polyphasic approach including microbiological and API assays as well as fatty acid methyl ester analysis, DNA-DNA hybridization and DNA sequencing. For molecular classification, the 16S rRNA cistron and the conserved genes gpd and recA of these bacteria were investigated. Together with other taxonomic criteria, the results of these studies indicate that the bacteria belong to a novel separate species, which we propose to name Erwinia tasmaniensis sp. nov., with the type strain Et1/99(T) (=DSM 17950(T)=NCPPB 4357(T)). From DNA-DNA hybridization kinetics, microbiological characteristics and nucleotide sequence analyses, this species is related to pathogenic Erwinia species, but also to the epiphytic species Erwinia billingiae.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Zellbiologie, Rosenhof, 68526 Ladenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Geider
authors.affiliation: Universität Hannover, Institut für Mikrobiologie, Schneiderberg 50, 30167 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Auling
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Zellbiologie, Rosenhof, 68526 Ladenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Zellbiologie, Rosenhof, 68526 Ladenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jakovljevic
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Zellbiologie, Rosenhof, 68526 Ladenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jock
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Mikrobiologie, Neugasse 25, 07743 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Völksch
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004885:Erwinia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D035264:Flowers / Q000382:microbiology; D005987:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / Q000235:genetics; D027845:Malus / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000382:microbiology; D031989:Pyrus / Q000382:microbiology*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics; D014197:Trees / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D005987:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases; D011938:Rec A Recombinases