A numerical analysis of ribosomal RNA gene patterns for typing clinical isolates of Corynebacterium group D2

Restriction digest fragments of DNA from 46 clinical isolates identified as Corynebacterium group D2, were separated by electrophoresis, Southern blotted onto nylon membranes and hybridized to a ribosomal RNA gene probe. The resulting band patterns were subjected to unweighed pair-group cluster analysis. Representative strains from the main clusters were compared with similarly prepared band patterns from type strains of human Corynebacterium species. The results indicate that strains identified as Corynebacterium group D2 represent a unique taxon and that computer-assisted analysis of rRNA gene restriction fragment polymorphism (ribotyping) could be a useful technique in epidemiological studies of these bacteria.