Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of mutants of the virginiamycin producing strain 899 and its relatedness to the type strain of Streptomyces virginiae

The species S. virginiae, including besides producers of virginiamycin the type strain and non-type strains producing other bioactive compounds, is genomically heterogeneous on the basis of BOX-PCR fingerprinting and DNA-DNA hybridizations. The virginiamycin producing strain 899 does not belong to the species S. virginiae despite its phenotypic similarity to the latter.