RELATEDNESS OF LEUCONOSTOC SPECIES OF THE LEUCONOSTOC-SENSU-STRICTO LINE OF DESCENT, LEUCONOSTOC-OENOS AND WEISSELLA PARAMESENTEROIDES REVEALED BY NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF TOTAL SOLUBLE CELL PROTEIN-PATTERNS

The levels of phenotypic relatedness among Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (six strains), Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum (four strains), Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris (two strains), Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides (three strains), Leuconostoc lactis (two strains), Leuconostoc argentinum (three strains), Leuconostoc citreum (two strains), Leuconostoc carnosum, Leuconostoc gelidum and Leuconostoc fallax (one strain of each), Leuconostoc oenos (seven strains), and Weissella paramesenteroides (two strains) were determined by numerical analysis of total soluble cell protein patterns. L. mesenteroides and the other species of the Leuconostoc sensu stricto line of descent grouped into separate well defined clusters at r greater than or equal to 0.80, which linked at a level of r = 0.66. L. oenos clustered at r greater than or equal to 0.81 and grouped with the Leuconostoc sensu stricto spp. at r = 0.62. W. paramesenteroides clustered with the leuconostocs at r = 0.60. These groupings corresponded well with DNA similarity values recorded among the species.