FIG. 5.

Phylogenetic analyses of C and J morphotypes from N. lituratus. (A) Phylogenetic tree constructed from 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons demonstrating the relationship of endospore-forming C1, C2, J1, and J2 clades to previously characterized Epulopiscium A1, A2, and B. Bootstrap values, based on 100 replicates, are provided at nodes. GenBank accession numbers follow names. Sequences obtained from samples from two separate fish (N.l. 1 and N.l. 2) were used in the phylogenetic analysis. The scale represents 0.02 nucleotide changes per position. (B) Identification of morphotypes using clade-specific oligonucleotide probes. Pairs of micrographs are shown with phase-contrast images on the left and epifluorescent images of the same cells to the right. Note the regions in the cells without fluorescence where the oligonucleotide probes were unable to enter the endospore. Cell type designations that correspond to the four major clades shown in A are provided in the upper left of each phase-contrast image. Scale bars represent 20 μm.