Separation of Kluyvera and Buttiauxella by Biochemical and Nucleic Acid Methods

Abstract

We propose to maintain the genera Buttiauxella and Kluyvera, which are phenotypically similar, as separate genera in the Enterobacteriaceae. This separation is supported by the following findings: (i) strains of Kluyvera ascorbata and Kluyvera cryocrescens were related to Buttiauxella agrestis ATCC 33320T (T = type strain) at levels of 32 to 36% and 30 to 31%, respectively, as determined by deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness (nitrocellulose filter method at 52.8°C); (ii) the guanine-plus-cytosine ratios of Buttiauxella and Kluyvera deoxyribonucleic acids 48 to 50 mol% and 55 to 57 mol%, respectively; and (iii) production of indole and lysine decarboxylase and fermentation of sucrose in 2 days could differentiate Kluyvera from Buttiauxella.