Numerical taxonomy and laboratory identification of Actinomyces and Arachnia and some related bacteria.

A numerical taxonomic study was made on 49 facultative anaerobic Gram-positive filamentous and/or diphtheroidal organisms isolated from dental plaques, carious dentin and faeces, together with 63 reference strains belonging to the genera Actinomyces, Arachnia, Bifidobacterium, Actinobacterium, Propionibacterium, Eubacterium and Lactobacillus. They were examined for 90 unit characters covering a wide range of tests and properties. The data were subjected to computer analysis in which the simple matching coefficient (SSM) and the similarity index (SJ) were calculated, and the results of single linkage techniques and an unweighted average linkage cluster analysis technique were compared. The strains fell into six major groups (phena). The Actinomyces strains were recovered in two phena; the first contained Actinomyces israelii and the other facultative anaerobic Actinomyces, including subclusters equal to taxospecies of A. odontolyticus and A. viscosus/A. naeslundii, while the other phenon corresponded to the genera Arachnia, Actinobacterium, Bifidobacterium and Propionibacterium. The groups of Arachnia and Actinobacterium each contained one species, representing taxospecies of Arachnia propionica and Actinobacterium meyerii. Taxonomic criteria, both constant and discriminative, were selected to form a diagnostic table useful for laboratory identification of this group of organisms. Immunofluorescence supported the numerical data.