Variations in the 16S rRNA gene sequence of Yersinia enterocolitica isolates influence the specificity of molecular identification systems

Four identification systems were used to type Yersinia enterocolitica strain Y11 and Yersinia enterocolitica sensu strictoT. Two systems based on biochemical reaction patterns identified both strains as Yersinia enterocolitica. Two molecular assays targeting the 16S rRNA gene failed to identify either strain Y11 or the type strain. Therefore, both strains were typed by the classical taxonomical approach requiring a determination of the overall base composition and the base sequence similarity using hybridization. Again both strains were classified as Yersinia enterocolitica isolates. Consequently, the sequences of the 16S rRNA gene of both strains were determined and compared. The strains differed in a region where nucleotide changes between species of the genus Yersinia had been described earlier. These differences may explain the failure of the molecular assays to identify the strains. They also demonstrate an independent evolution of the 16S rRNA genes in the species Yersinia enterocolitica sensu stricto suggesting an amendment to the nomenclature to be used in the future.