Contribution of DNA-DNA Hybridization to the Transfer of Enterobacter aerogenes to the Genus Klebsiella as K. mobilis

Polynucleotide sequence relatedness reactions were carried out to determine the extent of DNA divergence between labelled DNA of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae and unlabelled DNA of E. aerogenes and K. oxytoca. DNA homology between 14 strains of E. aerogenes and one strain of K. pneumoniae and one strain of E. cloacae was 53% ± 3 and 39% ± 4 respectively. Similarly, unlabelled DNA from 11 strains of K. oxytoca exhibited 55% ± 4 and 40% ± 3 DNA relatedness with labelled DNA of K. pneumoniae and E. cloacae respectively. It is concluded that E. aerogenes should be classified in the genus Klebsiella with the denomination of Klebsiella mobilis as previously proposed by Bascomb et al. (1971).