@article{mbs:/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.003891, author = "Dietrich, Elizabeth A. and Kingry, Luke C. and Kugeler, Kiersten J. and Levy, Craig and Yaglom, Hayley and Young, John W. and Mead, Paul S. and Petersen, Jeannine M.", title = "Francisella opportunistica sp. nov., isolated from human blood and cerebrospinal fluid", journal= "International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology", year = "2020", volume = "70", number = "2", pages = "1145-1151", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003891", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.003891", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1466-5034", type = "Journal Article", keywords = "Francisella opportunistica sp. nov.", keywords = "Francisella", keywords = "opportunistic pathogen", abstract = "Two isolates of a Gram-negative, non-spore-forming coccobacillus cultured from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of immunocompromised patients in the United States were described previously. Biochemical and phylogenetic analyses revealed that they belong to a novel species within the Francisella genus. Here we describe a third isolate of this species, recovered from blood of a febrile patient with renal failure, and formally name the Francisella species. Whole genome comparisons indicated the three isolates display greater than 99.9β€Š% average nucleotide identity (ANI) to each other and are most closely related to the tick endosymbiont F. persica , with only 88.6–88.8β€Š% ANI to the type strain of F. persica . Based on biochemical, metabolic and genomic comparisons, we propose that these three isolates should be recognized as Francisella opportunistica sp. nov, with the type strain of the species, PA05-1188T, available through the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen (DSM 107100) and the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC BAA-2974).", }