[Numerical analysis of the protein electrophoregrams of obligate methanotrophic bacteria]

The protein spectra for 70 strains of obligate methanotrophic bacteria were studied using electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel with sodium dodecyl sulphate. The protein spectra of Methylomonas methanica 12 and Methylosinus trichosporium 44 did not change in the course of the culture growth. Basing on the data obtained, the similarity coefficients were calculated for these strains. The numerical analysis of the similarity coefficients was done, and a dendrogram presenting the phylogenetic relationships between these bacterial strains, species, genera and groups was constructed. The coefficients of similarity between the strains of one species varied within the range of 78 to 100%. The similarity coefficients of the species and genera varied from 36 to 38%, respectively. The data suggest the existence of 5 independent genera of obligate methanotrophic bacteria: Methylomonas, Methylobacter, Methylococcus, Methylosinus and Methylocystis.