RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Modesto, Monica A1 Satti, Maria A1 Watanabe, Koichi A1 Huang, Chien-Hsun A1 Liou, Jong-Shian A1 Tamura, Tomohiko A1 Saito, Satomi A1 Mori, Koji A1 Huang, Lina A1 Sandri, Camillo A1 Spiezio, Caterina A1 Sgorbati, Barbara A1 Scarafile, Donatella A1 Cammà, Cesare A1 Ancora, Massimo A1 Patavino, Claudio A1 Arita, Masanori A1 Mattarelli, PaolaYR 2020 T1 Bifidobacteria in two-toed sloths (Choloepus didactylus): phylogenetic characterization of the novel taxon Bifidobacterium choloepi sp. nov. JF International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, VO 70 IS 12 SP 6115 OP 6125 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.004506 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1466-5034, AB Seven bifidobacterial strains were isolated from the faeces of two adult males of the two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) housed in Parco Natura Viva, in Italy. Comparative sequence analysis of 16S rRNA and of five housekeeping (hsp60, rpoB, clpC, dnaJ, dnaG) genes revealed that these strains were classified into two clusters. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the type strain of Bifidobacterium catenulatum subsp. kashiwanohense DSM 21854T (95.4 %) was the closest neighbour to strain in Cluster I (BRDM 6T), whereas the type strain of Bifidobacterium dentium DSM 20436T (values were in the range of 98‒99.8 %) was the closest neighbour to the other six strains in Cluster II. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of BRDM 6T and of strains in Cluster II with the closely related type strains were 76.0 and 98.9 % (mean value) respectively. Therefore, genotyping based on the genome sequence of the strain BRDM 6T combined with phenotypic analyses clearly revealed that the strain BRDM 6T represents a novel species for which the names Bifidobacterium choloepi sp. nov. (BRDM 6T=NBRC 114053T=BCRC 81222T) is proposed., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.004506