A taxonomic study of the genus Listeria using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of intracellular proteins

Abstract

Fifty-one strains of Listeria spp. and one strain of Jonesia denitrificans were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the resulting histograms compared using the unweighted pair group method with averaging. The majority of L. monocytogenes strains formed a discrete cluster with a minimum correlation of 73% similarity. The position of strain NCTC 11994 within the main L. monocytogenes cluster supports the recommendation by the National Collection of Type Cultures that it, rather than NCTC 10357, be adopted as the type strain of the species. All L. innocua strains formed a discrete cluster with a minimum correlation of 85% similarity. The similarity shown by L. grayi and L. murrayi, both between each other and with the other Listeria strains tested, support their designation as a single species within the genus Listeria. Although the single strain of J. denitrificans showed the least similarity with the other strains it was not sufficient to warrant support for its removal from the genus Listeria. This limited study provides a different perspective both between species in the genus Listeria and between the genera Listeria and Jonesia.