Hespellia stercorisuis gen. nov., sp. nov. and Hespellia porcina sp. nov., isolated from swine manure storage pits

Abstract

Four Gram-positive-staining, strictly anaerobic, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped organisms were isolated from a pig manure storage pit. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to two related but distinct groups. Sequence analysis showed that the two groups of isolates were highly related to each other (approx. 97 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), forming a distinct cluster within theClostridium coccoidessuprageneric rDNA grouping. Biochemical and physiological studies confirmed the division of the isolates into two related, albeit distinct, groups. Based on both phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence, it is proposed that the unidentified rod-shaped isolates from pig manure should be classified in a novel genus,Hespelliagen. nov., asHespellia stercorisuissp. nov. andHespellia porcinasp. nov. The type species of the novel genus isH. stercorisuis(type strain, PC18T=NRRL B-23456T=CCUG 46279T=ATCC BAA-677T) and the type strain ofH. porcinais PC80T(=NRRL B-23458T=ATCC BAA-674T).