Bacteria from Penguin Guano, Antarctica

Of the culturable bacteria, 72 randomly selected colonies were described using 49 morpho-physiological tests, 27 of which were subsequently considered significant in characterizing and differentiating the isolates.

On the basis of the nucleotide sequence of a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene in each of 72 pure isolates, three major phylogenetic groups were identified, namely the Moraxellaceae/Pseudomonadaceae (29 isolates), the Flavobacteriaceae (14), and the Micrococcaceae (29). Grouping of the isolates on the basis of morpho-physiological tests (whether 49 or 27 parameters) showed similar results to those based on 16S rRNA gene sequences.