title: Characterization of a Chromobacterium haemolyticum population from a natural tropical lake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study genetic diversity of Chromobacterium haemolyticum isolates recovered from a natural tropical lake.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A set of 31 isolates were recovered from a bacterial freshwater community by conventional plating methods and subjected to genetic and phenotypic characterization. The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene phylogeny revealed that the isolates were related most closely with C. haemolyticum. In addition to the molecular data, our isolates exhibited strong β-haemolytic activity, were nonviolacein producers and utilized i-inositol, D-mannitol and D-sorbitol in contrast with the other known chromobacteria. Evaluation of the genetic diversity in the 16S rRNA gene, tRNA intergenic spacers (tDNA) and 16S-23S internal transcribed spacers (ITS) unveiled different levels of genetic heterogeneity in the population, which were also observed with repetitive extragenic palindromic (rep)-PCR genomic fingerprinting using the BOX-AR1 primer. tDNA- and ITS-PCR analyses were partially congruent with the 16S rRNA gene phylogeny. The isolates exhibited high resistance to β-lactamic antibiotics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The population genetic heterogeneity was revealed by 16S rRNA gene sequence, ITS and BOX-PCR analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides for the first time an insight into the genetic diversity of phylogenetically close isolates to C. haemolyticum species.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Lima-Bittencourt
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: F A R
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chartone-Souza
authors.forename: A M A
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nascimento
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002861:Chromobacterium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012343:RNA, Transfer