PHYLOGENETIC DIVERSITY OF METHANOL- UTILIZING BACTERIA DEDUCED FROM THEIR 5S RIBOSOMAL RNA SEQUENCES

Abstract

In an attempt to elucidate the phylogeny of the C₁-compound-utilizing bacteria, dendrograms were drawn for gram negative obligate and facultative methanol-utilizing bacteria, a methane-utilizing bacterium, and other gram negative bacteria on the basis of their 5S ribosomal RNA sequences published to date. Phylogenetic distances were calculated using K_nuc, a parameter for phylogenetic distance based on the number of nucleotide substitutions reported by Kimura, and D_nuc, a modified form of K_nuc proposed by Hori and Osawa. The dendrograms were drawn using the unweighted pair-group (UPG) average clustering method. Obligate methanol-utilizing bacteria belong to one cluster of gram negative bacteria, while facultative methanol-utilizers are members of another. There is no close phylogenetic relationship between obligate and facultative methanol-utilizing bacteria.