Application of RNA polymerase beta-subunit gene (rpoB) sequences for the molecular differentiation of Legionella species.

ABSTRACT: The nucleotide sequences of the partial rpoB gene were determined from 38 Legionella species, including 15 serogroups of Legionella pneumophila. These sequences were then used to infer the phylogenetic relationships among the Legionella species in order to establish a molecular differentiation method appropriate for them. The sequences (300 bp) and the phylogenetic tree of rpoB were compared to those from analyses using 16S rRNA gene and mip sequences. The trees inferred from these three gene sequences revealed significant differences. This sequence incongruence between the rpoB tree and the other trees might have originated from the high frequency of synonymous base substitutions and/or from horizontal gene transfer among the Legionella species. The nucleotide variation of rpoB enabled mo

SUBMITTER: Ko KS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC120607 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature