Corynebacterium ulcerans and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis responses to DNA probes derived from corynephage beta and Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

Strains of Corynebacterium ulcerans and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (Corynebacterium ovis) were examined for the production of diphtheria toxin. A majority of C. ulcerans strains (25 of 37) and 1 C. pseudotuberculosis strain (1 of 14) gave a positive Elek test for diphtheria toxin, and for all strains but 1, production of diphtheria toxin was inhibited at the same level of Fe2+ as was the Corynebacterium diphtheriae control. All Elek-positive cultures as well as two Elek-negative isolates of C. ulcerans gave a positive signal when hybridized with a DNA probe unambiguous for the diphtheria toxin gene (tox) under conditions of high stringency. The majority of probe-positive C. ulcerans strains contained three or more DNA restriction fragments that hybridized with converting corynephage beta, suggesting that in C. ulcerans as in C. diphtheriae there may be a relationship between toxinogeny and carriage of beta-related phage. Selected strains of C. diphtheriae, C. ulcerans, and C. pseudotuberculosis were examined for DNA homology by a semiquantitative technique. There was very little homology between C. diphtheriae and members of the other two species. Strains of C. ulcerans and C. pseudotuberculosis, although more closely related, appeared to belong to distinct species as well.