Taxonomy of pasteurella anatipestifer. 1. DNA base composition and DNA-DNA hybridization analysis

DNA was isolated from 15 strains of Pasteurella anatipestifer and from one strain each of Moraxella nonliquefaciens, M. bovis, Pasteurella multocida, P. haemolytica, P. gallinarum, P. pneumotropica, and P. ureae. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of P. anatipestifer ranged from 32 to 35 mole %, whereas those of Moraxella and Pasteurella spp. were much higher, ranging from 40 to 45 mole %. DNA-DNA hybridization analysis revealed that homology of nine P. anatipestifer strains to strains ATCC 11845 and PA 15 was 52 to 100%, whereas homology of Moraxella and Pasteurella strains to these strains was only 3 to 17%. Similarly, homology of P. anatipestifer strains, Moraxella, and Pasteurella species other than P. multocida to P. multocida reference strain P-2192 was low. These results strongly suggest that P. anatipestifer is genetically unrelated to either Pasteurella or Moraxella.