Immunochemical Analysis of Relationships Among Isolated Frankiae (Actinomycetales)

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Abstract
An immunological study of nine strains of pure-cultured members of the order Actinomycetales isolated from symbiotic root nodules was undertaken to establish the taxonomic relationships of these organisms. Based on the data from a simple double-diffusion (Ouchterlony) precipitation procedure, these isolates, which tentatively have been classified in the genus Frankia (family Frankiaceae), could be divided into two major groups. The first group, designated serotype I, included all of the Actinomycetales strains isolated from Alnus, Comptonia, and Myrica host plants. The second group, serotype II, included Actinomycetales strains isolated from Elaeagnus host plants. No ambiguous cross-reactions with unrelated members of the Actinomycetales were observed. Crushed nodule suspensions cross-reacted in the same manner as pure-cultured frankiae, suggesting that the technique could be important in screening for novel, naturally occurring strains. A comparative study in which an immunofluorescence procedure was used failed to show reliable correlations among the Actinomycetales strains tested. We concluded that the immunodiffusion technique was the better of the two methods for Frankia strain characterization.