- Volume 38, Issue 3, 1988

A new species of Alteromonas, for which the name Alteromonas colwelliana is proposed, is described. This organism is a gram-negative, marine, aerobic, polarly flagellated rod-shaped bacterium that can grow as filamentous helices, synthesize melanin, and excrete acidic polysaccharide exopolymer. Its deoxyribonucleic acid has a guanine-plus-cytosine content of 46 mol% and less than 20% homology with the deoxyribonucleic acids of other phenotypically related species. The type strain is A. colwelliana LST-W (= ATCC 39565).

A new species of Streptococcus, Streptococcus intestinalis, which accounted for 50% or more of the bacterial population in the colons of pigs and was also isolated from pig feces, is described. Isolates of S. intestinalis were anaerobic to aerotolerant, nonmotile, nonsporing, gram-positive cocci. All strains were β-hemolytic and hydrolyzed urea. Ammonia did not serve as a sole nitrogen source for S. intestinalis, nor did the addition of ammonia to the culture medium affect urease activity. Of 130 strains tested, 29 reacted with rabbit antiserum prepared against Lancefield group G streptococci. The remaining strains did not react with any Lancefield group antiserum. The guanine-plus-cytosine content of the deoxyribonucleic acid ranged from 39 to 40 mol%. A culture of the type strain (strain 76-84-1) has been deposited in the American Type Culture Collection as strain ATCC 43492.

We found that Haemophilus ducreyi, the etiologic agent of chancroid, contains two isoprenoid quinone structural types, demethylmenaquinone and menaquinone, with six- and seven-unit unsaturated isoprene side chains, respectively. Eleven strains of H. ducreyi and a control strain of Haemophilus influenzae biogroup aegyptius (Haemophilus aegyptius) were grown in a liquid medium with oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor. Quinones were extracted from bacterial membrane preparations and isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The chemical structure of both quinone types was determined by using ultraviolet and mass spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. The presence of both a demethylmenaquinone and a menaquinone in H. ducreyi represents a major physiological and chemotaxonomic difference between H. ducreyi and other Haemophilus species.

We describe a bacterium which demethoxylates O-methoxylated aromatic acids to give mixed volatile fatty acids. The cell wall composition and deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid homology data allow the organism to be included within the genus Eubacterium. Although the guanine-plus-cytosine content (47 mol%) is the same as that for Eubacterium limosum and the morphologies of the two organisms are similar, the new isolate differs in that it cannot utilize H2-CO2, methanol, or other one-carbon compounds or the amino acid isoleucine as growth substrates and in defined media requires acetate as a growth factor. The new species is named Eubacterium callanderi; the type strain is strain FD (= DSM 3662).

Microaerotolerant strains of gram-negative, nonsporing rod-shaped bacteria were isolated from two nonhuman sources (sewage sludge and Paramecium caudatum). These strains were saccharolytic, produced acetic, propionic, and succinic acids and traces of isobutyric, isovaleric, and lactic acids, contained sphingolipids, and were metronidazole susceptible. One strain, which was used for menaquinone analysis, contained MK-9, MK-10, and MK-11 respiratory quinones. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of the deoxyribonucleic acids ranged from 38 to 41 mol%. I concluded that these strains, although they are able to grow slowly in an aerobic atmosphere, represent members of the genus Bacteroides.

Chlamydia sp. strain TWAR is an important cause of acute respiratory disease in humans. To determine the genetic relatedness of the TWAR organism to Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia psittaci, solution hybridization followed by SI nuclease assays were performed, and guanine-plus-cytosine (G+C) contents were determined. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) preparations from three TWAR isolates were radioactively labeled and hybridized against DNAs from three serovars ofC. trachomatis and five strains of C. psittaci. Reciprocal experiments were also done by using radioactively labeled C. trachomatis and C. psittaci DNAs against TWAR DNA. In all cases, the degree of DNA relatedness between TWAR and the two Chlamydia species was 10% or less. Within the group of TWAR isolates, there was 94% or greater sequence similarity. The G+C values for TWAR were intermediate between the G+C values for C. trachomatis and C. psittaci. The degrees of DNA relatedness among the strains within the species C. psittaci ranged from 20 to 100%.

Six motile Lactobacillus strains with meso-diaminopimelic acid in their cell walls were isolated from fermented cane molasses in Thailand and were compared with three strains labeled Lactobacillus mali (strains JCM 1116T [T = type strain], JCM 3821, and JCM 3822) and with a strain labeled Lactobacillus yamanashiensis (strain JCM 1153T). Morphological, biochemical, and chemotaxonomic characteristics of these 10 strains were similar, and the levels of deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid homology among the strains revealed that they belong to a single species, Lactobacillus mali Carr and Davis 1970, which has precedence according to the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria.

The presence or absence of some enzymes of nucleotide metabolism has been suggested by other workers as being of possible value as criteria for some genera within the Mollicutes. We assayed subcellular fractions of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides strain Y and Ureaplasma urealyticum 960T (T = type strain) for these activities. U. urealyticum 960T had characteristics similar to those noted previously (Williams and Pollack, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 35:227-230, 1985) for some other species in the Mycoplasmataceae in that it (i) does not show a deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase, (ii) does possess deoxycytidine deaminase, (iii) does not show a specific deoxyuridine monophosphate phosphatase, and (iv) does possess deoxycytidine monophosphate deaminase. M. mycoides differs from these other members of the Mycoplasmataceae in that it (i) does possess a deoxyuridine triphosphate nucleotidohydrolase and (ii) does not show deoxycytidine or cytidine deaminase activity, but it is similar in that it does not show a specific deoxyuridine monophosphate phosphatase and does possess deoxycytidine monophosphate deaminase. Extracts of U. urealyticum were fractionated and assayed for activities of a range of enzymes of nucleotide metabolism. Our results indicate a capacity for salvage pathways of nucleotide synthesis with similarities to those already proposed for M. mycoides and Acholeplasma laidlawii B-PG9.

A new cellulolytic, thermophilic species of the genus Clostridium isolated from camel feces, compost, soil, and a hot spring is described. The cells are strictly anaerobic, gram-negative, endospore-forming rods that are 0.4 to 0.7 μm wide and 2.0 to 8.0 μm long. The optimum growth temperature is about 60°C. Cellulose, cellobiose, and a wide variety of carbohydrates are fermented, and the major fermentation products are carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ethanol, and acetic, butyric, and lactic acids. Hydrogen sulfide also is produced. The guanine-plus-cytosine content of the deoxyribonucleic acid is 36.7 to 37.8 mol%. The name Clostridium thermocopriae sp. nov. is proposed for this species; the type strain is strain JT3-3 (= IAM 13577).

A new species of Kibdelosporangium is described. This organism is characterized by white aerial hyphae bearing long chains of smooth-walled spores and abundant sporangiumlike structures. The new species contains meso-diaminopimelic acid, arabinose, and galactose (type IV cell walls, type A whole-cell sugar pattern), phosphatidylethanolamine (type PII phospholipid pattern), and no mycolic acids. The single soil isolate has chemical and morphological properties consistent with the genus Kibdelosporangium. A comparison with previously described species of the genus Kibdelosporangium in which we used standard techniques, fatty acid profiles, and polypeptide banding fingerprints indicated that this strain is a new species. The name proposed for this new species is Kibdelosporangium philippinense. The type strain is strain A80407 (= NRRL 18198).

A study of two similar actinomycete strains, NRRL B-16109 and NRRL B-16110, demonstrated the presence of both the meso and ll isomers of diaminopimelic acid in whole-cell hydrolysates, typical of the genus Kitasatosporia Omura et al. These strains also had a phospholipid composition (type PII; diagnostic constituent, phosphatidylethanolamine) typical of this genus. Studies of deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness between these strains and the type strains of the three previously recognized species of Kitasatosporia showed that they are not closely related to the other species. A new species, Kitasatosporia mediocidica, is proposed for these novel strains, and NRRL B-16109 is designated the type strain.

The purposes of this paper are (i) to present a framework for the morphometric analysis of large uncultivable spirochetes that are symbiotic in wood-eating cockroaches and termites; (ii) to revive, in accordance with the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, the names of three genera (Pillotina, Diplocalyx, and Hollandina) and three species (Pillotina calotermitidis, Diplocalyx calotermitidis, and Hollandina pterotermitidis) for the same organisms to which the names were originally applied, because these names were not included on the 1980 Approved Lists of Bacterial Names; and (iii) to formally propose the name Clevelandina reticulitermitidis for a new genus and species of spirochetes from the termite Reticulitermes tibialis. None of these genera and species has been cultivated either axenically or in mixed culture; hence, all are based on type-descriptive material.

Five new strains of budding bacteria of the genus Pedomicrobium were isolated from freshwater habitats. These strains formed two groups, both of which fitted the description of the genus Pedomicrobium, but their characteristics did not match the description of any existing species. Pedomicrobium americanum is proposed for strains IFAM G-1381 (= ATCC 43612), IFAM BA-868 (= ATCC 43613), and IFAM BA-869 (= ATCC 43615), with strain IFAM G-1381 as the type strain. Strains IFAM ST-1306 (= ATCC 43611) and IFAM WD-1355 (= 43614) are named Pedomicrobium australicum, with strain IFAM ST-1306 as the type strain. The descriptions of the genus Pedomicrobium and of the type species Pedomicrobium ferrugineum are emended.

We propose the name Campylobacter jejuni subsp. doylei for a new subspecies of gram-negative, microaerophilic Campylobacter, which is nitrate negative and was isolated from human clinical specimens (gastric epithelium biopsies and feces). The pathogenicity of the organism is not known. Strains grow poorly at 42°C; most produce catalase, but some give weak or negative reactions; none reduces nitrate to nitrite. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of the deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs) of 10 strains were 29+1 mol% (mean + standard deviation). Conventional bacteriological tests and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed that these strains form a tight phenotypic and genotypic cluster within C. jejuni. The characteristics which differentiate the new subspecies from other members of C. jejuni and from Campylobacter coli are given. The type strain is strain 093 (= NCTC 11951): It was isolated from the feces of a young child with diarrhoea and has a guanine-plus-cytosine content of 29 mol%.

A chemically defined medium containing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) supported the growth of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae biotype 2 (Bertschinger 2008/76), whereas the same medium lacking NAD did not. Nicotinamide mononucleotide, nicotinamide riboside, and nicotinamide could substitute for NAD, whereas nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide, nicotinic acid mononucleotide, nicotinic acid, and quinolinic acid could not. Hence, although described as being V factor independent, this organism can exhibit V-factor-dependent growth.

Proteobacteria classis nov. is suggested as the name for a new higher taxon to circumscribe the a, β, γ, and δ groups that are included among the phylogenetic relatives of the purple photosynthetic bacteria and as a suitable collective name for reference to that group. The group names (alpha, etc.) remain as vernacular terms at the level of subclass pending further studies and nomenclatural proposals.

Two isolates belonging to the genus Catellatospora were recovered from soil samples collected at different geographical sites in Japan. These isolates showed many similarities to the type strain of Catellatospora citrea in chemotaxonomy and morphology, but they required an external source of methionine for growth. They are described as a new subspecies of Catellatospora citrea, Catellatospora citrea subsp. methionotrophica; the type strain is strain IFO 14553 (= 6257-B).