NUMERICAL TAXONOMY OF PSEUDOMONADS ISOLATED FROM WATER, SEDIMENT AND EELS

A numerical taxonomic study was performed on 129 pseudomonad isolates from aquatic environments. 67 out of 98 field strains were isolated from water and sediment samples from Albufera lake, a hypereutrophic lake near Valencia, and 31 strains came from an eel hatchery. 10 clusters were formed at 84% similarity level when the Sokal-Michener similarity coefficient was used. Five clusters were designated as Pseudomonas putida (16 strains), P. fluorescens biotype I (9 strains), P. pseudoalcaligenes (11 strains), P. stutzeri (4 strains) and Shewanella putrefaciens (3 strains). A subcluster of 7 strains (out of 15) was ascribed to the species Xanthomonas maltophilia, while the other strains remained unidentified. Two clusters comprise members of the new family Comamonadaceae, as they share the same pattern of substrate utilization as sole carbon source, but only one could be ascribed to the genus Acidovorax.