Suitability of intrinsic antibiotic resistance as a method of strain identification inRhizobium trifolii

Abstract

Identification ofRhizobium trifolii strains using intrinsic antibiotic resistance and serology was performed. Unknown strains, generated by mixing known strains in a common broth, always reacted with only one antiserum but showed variable intrinsic antibiotic resistance patterns. All unknowns were rapidly and unambiguously identified by the immunological double diffusion technique, while 33% of the unknowns were either unidentifiable or identified incorrectly when resistance to various antibiotics was measured. It is concluded that serology is less variable than instrinsic antibiotic resistance when strains ofR. trifolii are identified.