Assignment of Centers for Disease Control group IVc-2 to the genus Ralstonia as Ralstonia paucula sp. nov

1 Laboratorium voor Microbiologie, Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Gent, University of Ghent, Belgium 2 BCCM/LMG Culture Collection, University of Ghent, Belgium 3 Department of Clinical Bacteriology, University of Göteborg, S-413 46 Göteborg, Sweden Author for correspondence: P. Vandamme. Tel: +32 9 264 51 13. Fax: +32 9 264 50 92. e-mail: peter.vandamme{at}rug.ac.be ABSTRACT An integrated genotypic and phenotypic analysis of 12 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) group IVc-2 strains revealed that this taxon represents a novel species belonging to the genus Ralstonia . Comparative 16S rDNA sequence analysis allocated a representative CDC group IVc-2 strain to the Ralstonia branch of the β subclass of the Proteobacteria. DNA-DNA hybridizations did not detect significant binding levels towards any presently known Ralstonia species, including Ralstonia pickettii . Its DNA base ratio is between 65 and 67 mol%. The name Ralstonia paucula sp. nov. is proposed, with strain LMG 3244 (= CDC E6793), isolated from a human respiratory tract, as the type strain. R. paucula can be differentiated from other Ralstonia species by whole-cell protein analysis, amplified rDNA restriction analysis and a variety of classical biochemical tests. Strains have been isolated from various human clinical and environmental sources. Key Words: CDC group IVc-2 • Ralstonia • β- Proteobacteria The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rDNA sequence of strain LMG 3413 T is AF085226 .