Corynebacterium Anserum Sp. Nov., Isolated From The Faeces Of Greater White- Fronted Geese (Anser Albifrons) At Poyang Lake, Pr China

Two Gram-stain-positive, facultatively aerobic, non-motile and rod- to coccoid-shaped bacterial strains, 23H37-10(T) and 4HC-13, were isolated from the faeces of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) at Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, PR China. Optimal growth was observed at 35-37 degrees C, pH 7.0-8.0 and with 0.5-1.5% (w/v) NaCl. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains 23H37-10(T) and 4HC-13 were identical. Phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses indicated that strains 23H37-10(T) and 4HC-13 formed an independent cluster within the genus Corynebacterium and showed 98.8, 97.4, 97.4 and 97.2 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Corynebacterium urogenitale LMM 1652(T), Corynebacterium urealyticum DSM 7109(T), Corynebacterium falsenii DSM 44353(T) and Corynebacterium jeikeium NCTC 11913(T), respectively. Cells contained C-18:1 omega 9c, C-18:0 and C-16:0 as the major cellular fatty acids and MK-9 (H-2) as the predominant respiratory quinone. The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidyl inositol mannosides, two unidentified phospholipids, four unidentified glycolipids and one unidentified lipid. Strain 23H37-10(T) contained mycolic acids, with meso-diaminopimelic acid and arabinose as the major whole-cell hydrolysates. The genome G+C content of strains 23H37-10(T) and 4HC-13 was 55.2 mol%. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between strains 23H37-10(T) and 4HC-13 were 94.4 and 99.6%, respectively. Strains 23H37-10(T) and 4HC-13 had dDDH and ANI values of less than 70 and 96% with all available genomes of the genus Corynebacterium, respectively. The differential genotypic inferences, together with phenotypic and biochemical characteristics, suggested that strains 23H37-10(T) and 4HC-13 represent a novel species within the genus Corynebacterium, for which the name Corynebacterium anserum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 23H37-10(T) (=GDMCC 1.1737(T)=KACC 21672(T)).