Complete Genome of subsp. KCTC 3135 and Variation in Cell Wall Genes of Strains.

The type strain subsp. KCTC 3135 was deeply sequenced and annotated, replacing a previous draft genome in this study. The and genes were involved in synthesizing wall teichoic acids (WTAs), and these genes and their products were previously regarded as the distinguishing difference between and . However, a comparative genomic analysis of spp. revealed that both and had various types of cell walls. These and operons were mutually exclusive and the genes from were very similar to the genes from non- bacteria, unlike the genes from . The results and previous studies suggest that the genes and the genes are not inherited after subspecies speciation. The phylogenetic tree based on whole genome sequences showed that each subspecies clearly formed a monophyletic group, while the tree based on genes showed that monophyletic groups were formed according to the cell wall type rather than the subspecies. These findings indicate that the genes and the presence of ribitol as a cell-wall constituent were not the distinguishing difference between the subspecies of and that the description of subspecies should be updated.