Actinomyces Tangfeifanii Sp. Nov., Isolated From The Vulture Aegypius Monachus

A novel, Gram-stain-positive, catalase-positive, non-spore-forming, short rod-shaped strain (VUL4_3(T)) was isolated from rectal swabs of Old World vultures (Aegypius monachus) from the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau, China. Based on the results of biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison, strain VUL4_3(T) was determined to be a member of the genus Actinomyces that is closely related to the type strains of Actinomyces liubingyangii (97.7 % 1 6S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Actinomyces marimammalium (96.5 %). Optimal growth occurred at 37 degrees C, pH 6-7 and with 1 % (w/v) NaCl. The typical major cellular fatty acids of strain VUL4_3(T) were C-18:1 omega 9c, C-16:0 and C-18:0. The VUL4_3(T) genome contained 2 207 832 bp with an average G+C content of 51.9 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain VUL4_3(T) and the above two species of the genus Actinomyces showed less than 32 % DNA-DNA relatedness, supporting a novel species status of strain VUL4_3(T). Based on the phenotypic data and phylogenetic inference, the novel species Actinomyces tangfeifanii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is VUL4_3(T) (=CGMCC 4.7369(T)=DSM 103436(T)).