Pseudomonas--an attempt at a general classification.

Abstract

SUMMARY: On the basis of the characterization of 126 strains representing 46 different species of Pseudomonas and 6 species of Aeromonas obtained from different culture collections, a proposal for the taxonomy of the genus Pseudomonas is made. By using various old and new diagnostic methods some 90 different morphological and cultural characters, many obtained by modification of methods and media, were investigated. The iodoacetate test was developed to distinguish between oxidative and fermentative utilization of glucose. Results were evaluated by the use of punched cards and by the method of strips. The relationships between the established species of Pseudomonas and Aeromonas were shown by using an Adansonian principle and by taxonomic models. On the basis of the results obtained proposals for the definition of the genus Pseudomonas and for re-descriptions of Pseudomonas species are given and the relations to related genera are shown. In the definition of the genus Pseudomonas an attempt to find a more general principle for subdivision within the genus was based on the type of glucose utilization and on the relationships of the species expressed in some other features. This proposal about the taxonomy of pseudomonads is compared with that of Rhodes (1959).