Numerical analysis of fatty and mycolic acid profiles of Corynebacterium urealyticum and other related corynebacteria.

The fatty and mycolic acid profiles of 52 strains of clinical origin belonging to Corynebacterium urealyticum were subjected to numerical analysis along with those of representative members of Corynebacterium ammoniagenes, Corynebacterium bovis, Corynebacterium glutamicum, Corynebacterium jèikeium, Corynebacterium minutissimum, Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, Corynebacterium xerosis, Corynebacterium renale, Corynebacterium cystitidis, "Corynebacterium ulcerans" and one strain of the Corynebacterium F1 group. Strains were divided into eight clusters at an amalgamation distance of 7.4. Corynebacterium urealyticum appeared as an homogeneous cluster clearly distant from others, that included several members of the genus Corynebacterium, and it was characterized by its content on unsaturated mycolic acids of mainly 28 (28:1) and 30 (30:3) carbon atoms. On the basis of these results the taxonomic "status" of Corynebacterium urealyticum, a new species within the genus Corynebacterium "sensu stricto", is further justified.