ABSTRACT
Number and size of plasmids are highly variable among isolates of O. anthropi and O. intermedium leading to a large range of genome size even in a same species. For instance, the genome size of clinical isolates of O. anthropi varies from about 5 Mb to about 8 Mb.18 A high level of genomic plasticity in a species has also been observed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in pulsed-Šeld gel electrophoresis (PFGE),19 ampliŠed fragment length polymorphism
(AFLP),20 and PCR based on repeated sequences (REPPCR).7,21 Genomic ³uidity related to a rapid microevolution has been proved for seven clonal clinical strains isolated from a same patient over a period of 1 year the strain encountered a large deletion of 150 kb including one rrn copy.22 This suggested that the genomic polymorphism in Ochrobactrum could be related to the adaptation in various ecological niches and to the versatile lifestyles of these bacteria.
