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Nocardia Vaccinii Demaree And Smith, 1952. A Response
MARY P. LECHEVALIER RR 2, Box 2235, Morrisville, VT 05661, USA
Code Number: AC96001
Size of Files:
Text: 7.5K
No associated graphics files
ABSTRACT. A request for information on Nocardia
vaccinii published in this journal (Locci,
1994) elicits the following response: no isolates from
blueberry galls other than the original strain of Demaree and
Smith are known. Some additional actinomycete isolates have been
identified as N.vaccinii on the basis of physiology (also
some cell chemistry), but their pathogenicity for blueberry
plants is not known. Locci (1994) has recently published a request for information on Nocardia vaccinii strains other than the type strain described by Demaree and Smith in 1952. Gordon et al. (1978) reported that two strains held in the Institute of Microbiology (Rutgers University, NJ; presently called the Waksman Institute) culture collection (IMRU 1072 and IMRU 1074) could be classed as Nocardia vaccinii based on physiological and cell chemical data. The strains were received from Dr. J. B. Routien of Chas. Pfizer Corporation in 1958. No other information on their ultimate source was noted in her records or publications. In an attempt to determine the origin of 1072 and 1074, I consulted with the present actinomycete curator at Pfizer, Dr. L. H. Huang. He was unable to find reference to them in his files, but having consulted with Dr. Routien could say that they may have been provided to Pfizer by a Canadian plant pathologist. It is therefore possible that they were isolated from blueberry galls, but this is not certain. Their pathogenicity for blueberry (if any) remains to be determined. These strains are not presently held at the Waksman Institute nor at the American Type Culture Collection (P. Pienta, personal communication). Some of the IMRU strains are held as lyophiles by Dr. Michael R. McGinnis (Dept. of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA). From one of these I have been able to culture IMRU 1074. The strain has been accessioned by Dr. David Labeda at the Northern Regional Research Center at Peoria, IL, as NRRL B 16988. In the course of our studies on Nocardia amarae (Lechevalier & Lechevalier, 1974), we determined that the type strain of N.vaccinii (IMRU 3500), like N.amarae, produced nocardomycolic acids having unusual monounsaturated alpha-branches (the mycolates of most other nocardiae have saturated side branches). Unfortunately, we did not determine the structure of the nocardomycolates of 1072 and 1074. However, Gordon et al. (1978) reported that nocardomycolic acids were present using the "Lipids characteristic of Nocardia- A" (LCNA) TLC system. Since no gas chromatographic analyses were run, it is not known whether their mycolates also had unsaturated alpha side chains. N.amarae has recently been reassigned to the revived genus Gordona (Stackebrandt et al., 1988) on the basis of 16S rDNA analyses (Blackall et al., 1994; Goodfellow et al., 1994; Ruimy et al., 1994). Since N.vaccinii IMRU 3500 produces a mycolate similar to that of N.amarae, it might be of interest to determine whether it (and 1074) might also belong within Gordona. It would be of interest to test IMRU 1072 and 1074 for pathogenicity on blueberry plants. The type strain was isolated from bud galls of blueberry plants, but it is not fully clear that its pathogenicity for this host was demonstrated unequivocally by Demaree and Smith. They hypothesized that the organism probably survived as a saprophyte in leaf mold. It is possible that N.vaccinii, like many other actinomycetes, is an opportunistic pathogen, causing infection only following fortuitous introduction through trauma. This may also account for the fact that no other isolates have been reported from infected blueberry plants. Evtushenko (1986) reported the isolation of 27 strains of actinomycetes from "actinorhizal nodules" which the author assigned to N.vaccinii based on numerical taxonomic studies. It is not clear from the abstract whether these were nodules of the Frankia type since the identity of the plant host(s) involved was not given. No data on the infectivity of the stains were reported. It is hoped that this brief discussion will elicit further information on these and other strains of N.vaccinii.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I thank M. R. Mc Ginnis for providing lyophiles of IMRU 1072 and 1074 and David Labeda for his help in archiving the strain IMRU 1074.
REFERENCES
Blackall, L.L., S.C.Barker & P.Hugenholtz (1994). Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic history of Nocardia pinensis and Nocardia amarae. System.Appl.Microbiol., 17: 519-525 Demaree, J.B. & N.R.Smith (1952). Nocardia vaccinii n.sp. causing galls on blueberry plants. Phytopathology, 42: 249- 252
Evtushenko, L.I. (1986). Numerical analysis of Nocardia vaccinii. In: G.Szabo, S.Biro & M.Goodfellow (eds.) Biological, Biochemical and Biomedical Aspects of Actinomycetes. Akademai Kiado, Budapest. Part B, p. 602
Goodfellow, M., J.Chun, S.Stubbs & A.S. Tobili (1994). Transfer of Nocardia amarae Lechevalier and Lechevalier 1974 to the genus Gordona as Gordona amarae comb. nov. Lett.Appl.Microbiol., 19: 401-405
Gordon, R.E,, S.K.Mishra & D.A.Barnett (1978). Some bits and pieces of the genus Nocardia: N.carnea, N.vaccinii, N.transvalensis, N.orientalis and N.aerocolonigenes. J.gen.Microbiol., 109: 69-78
Lechevalier, M.P. & H.A.Lechevalier (1974). Nocardia amarae sp. nov., an actinomycete common in foaming activated sludge. Int.J.Syst. Bacteriol., 24: 278- 288
Locci, R. (1994). On Nocardia vaccinii Demaree and Smith, 1952. Actinomycetes, 5: 23-24
Ruimy, R., P.Boiron, V.Boivin & R.Christen (1994).A phylogeny of the genus Nocardia deduced from the analysis of small- subunit ribosomal DNA sequences, including transfer of Nocardia amarae to the genus Gordona as Gordona amarae comb. nov. FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 123: 261-268
Stackebrandt, E. , J.Smida & M.D.Collins (1988). Evidence of phylogenetic heterogeneity within the genus Rhodococcus: revival of the genus Gordona (Tsukamura). J.gen.appl.Microbiol., 34: 341-348.
Copyright 1996 C.E.T.A., The International Centre for Theoretical and Applied Ecology, Gorizia Actinomycetes 1996, Volume 7 No. 1, pp 1-3
Nocardia Vaccinii Demaree And Smith, 1952. A Response
MARY P. LECHEVALIER RR 2, Box 2235, Morrisville, VT 05661, USA
Code Number: AC96001
Size of Files:
Text: 7.5K
No associated graphics files
ABSTRACT. A request for information on Nocardia
vaccinii published in this journal (Locci,
1994) elicits the following response: no isolates from
blueberry galls other than the original strain of Demaree and
Smith are known. Some additional actinomycete isolates have been
identified as N.vaccinii on the basis of physiology (also
some cell chemistry), but their pathogenicity for blueberry
plants is not known. Locci (1994) has recently published a request for information on Nocardia vaccinii strains other than the type strain described by Demaree and Smith in 1952. Gordon et al. (1978) reported that two strains held in the Institute of Microbiology (Rutgers University, NJ; presently called the Waksman Institute) culture collection (IMRU 1072 and IMRU 1074) could be classed as Nocardia vaccinii based on physiological and cell chemical data. The strains were received from Dr. J. B. Routien of Chas. Pfizer Corporation in 1958. No other information on their ultimate source was noted in her records or publications. In an attempt to determine the origin of 1072 and 1074, I consulted with the present actinomycete curator at Pfizer, Dr. L. H. Huang. He was unable to find reference to them in his files, but having consulted with Dr. Routien could say that they may have been provided to Pfizer by a Canadian plant pathologist. It is therefore possible that they were isolated from blueberry galls, but this is not certain. Their pathogenicity for blueberry (if any) remains to be determined. These strains are not presently held at the Waksman Institute nor at the American Type Culture Collection (P. Pienta, personal communication). Some of the IMRU strains are held as lyophiles by Dr. Michael R. McGinnis (Dept. of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, USA). From one of these I have been able to culture IMRU 1074. The strain has been accessioned by Dr. David Labeda at the Northern Regional Research Center at Peoria, IL, as NRRL B 16988. In the course of our studies on Nocardia amarae (Lechevalier & Lechevalier, 1974), we determined that the type strain of N.vaccinii (IMRU 3500), like N.amarae, produced nocardomycolic acids having unusual monounsaturated alpha-branches (the mycolates of most other nocardiae have saturated side branches). Unfortunately, we did not determine the structure of the nocardomycolates of 1072 and 1074. However, Gordon et al. (1978) reported that nocardomycolic acids were present using the "Lipids characteristic of Nocardia- A" (LCNA) TLC system. Since no gas chromatographic analyses were run, it is not known whether their mycolates also had unsaturated alpha side chains. N.amarae has recently been reassigned to the revived genus Gordona (Stackebrandt et al., 1988) on the basis of 16S rDNA analyses (Blackall et al., 1994; Goodfellow et al., 1994; Ruimy et al., 1994). Since N.vaccinii IMRU 3500 produces a mycolate similar to that of N.amarae, it might be of interest to determine whether it (and 1074) might also belong within Gordona. It would be of interest to test IMRU 1072 and 1074 for pathogenicity on blueberry plants. The type strain was isolated from bud galls of blueberry plants, but it is not fully clear that its pathogenicity for this host was demonstrated unequivocally by Demaree and Smith. They hypothesized that the organism probably survived as a saprophyte in leaf mold. It is possible that N.vaccinii, like many other actinomycetes, is an opportunistic pathogen, causing infection only following fortuitous introduction through trauma. This may also account for the fact that no other isolates have been reported from infected blueberry plants. Evtushenko (1986) reported the isolation of 27 strains of actinomycetes from "actinorhizal nodules" which the author assigned to N.vaccinii based on numerical taxonomic studies. It is not clear from the abstract whether these were nodules of the Frankia type since the identity of the plant host(s) involved was not given. No data on the infectivity of the stains were reported. It is hoped that this brief discussion will elicit further information on these and other strains of N.vaccinii.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. I thank M. R. Mc Ginnis for providing lyophiles of IMRU 1072 and 1074 and David Labeda for his help in archiving the strain IMRU 1074.
REFERENCES
Blackall, L.L., S.C.Barker & P.Hugenholtz (1994). Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic history of Nocardia pinensis and Nocardia amarae. System.Appl.Microbiol., 17: 519-525 Demaree, J.B. & N.R.Smith (1952). Nocardia vaccinii n.sp. causing galls on blueberry plants. Phytopathology, 42: 249- 252
Evtushenko, L.I. (1986). Numerical analysis of Nocardia vaccinii. In: G.Szabo, S.Biro & M.Goodfellow (eds.) Biological, Biochemical and Biomedical Aspects of Actinomycetes. Akademai Kiado, Budapest. Part B, p. 602
Goodfellow, M., J.Chun, S.Stubbs & A.S. Tobili (1994). Transfer of Nocardia amarae Lechevalier and Lechevalier 1974 to the genus Gordona as Gordona amarae comb. nov. Lett.Appl.Microbiol., 19: 401-405
Gordon, R.E,, S.K.Mishra & D.A.Barnett (1978). Some bits and pieces of the genus Nocardia: N.carnea, N.vaccinii, N.transvalensis, N.orientalis and N.aerocolonigenes. J.gen.Microbiol., 109: 69-78
Lechevalier, M.P. & H.A.Lechevalier (1974). Nocardia amarae sp. nov., an actinomycete common in foaming activated sludge. Int.J.Syst. Bacteriol., 24: 278- 288
Locci, R. (1994). On Nocardia vaccinii Demaree and Smith, 1952. Actinomycetes, 5: 23-24
Ruimy, R., P.Boiron, V.Boivin & R.Christen (1994).A phylogeny of the genus Nocardia deduced from the analysis of small- subunit ribosomal DNA sequences, including transfer of Nocardia amarae to the genus Gordona as Gordona amarae comb. nov. FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 123: 261-268
Stackebrandt, E. , J.Smida & M.D.Collins (1988). Evidence of phylogenetic heterogeneity within the genus Rhodococcus: revival of the genus Gordona (Tsukamura). J.gen.appl.Microbiol., 34: 341-348.
Copyright 1996 C.E.T.A., The International Centre for Theoretical and Applied Ecology, Gorizia
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