Molecular characterization of Enterobcater ludwigii using 16S rDNA isolated from carrot, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Enterobacter is an exceptionally diverse genus of bacteria found in various habitats associated with soil, plants, and animals, including humans. Enterobacter species are gram-negative, motile, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family. It is also described as non-spore-forming, flagella-containing, urease-positive, and lactose fermenting. Enterobacter includes several species, which can be risky pathogenic bacteria to vegetables, including carrots, and therefore have an impact on the fresh production of carrots. This study was conducted to isolate and identify Enterobacter from a carrot field in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Therefore, this molecular study was conducted in 2023 at Limpopo University to identify the bacterium associated with tomato filed from South Africa’s soils using 16S rDNA marker. The DNA was extracted using the Chelex method. The bacterium was identified as Enterobacter. The Nblast analysis showed South African E. ludwigii has 98% similarity with a population from India (MW383808). Phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood placed this species with those molecularly identified as Enterobacter in the same clade with highly supported (100) bootstrap values. In conclusion, this species was identified using 16S rDNA properly. However, using other DNA markers for a better understanding of Enterobacter phylogeny is recommended.