Yersinia entomophaga sp. nov., isolated from the New Zealand grass grub Costelytra zealandica

Abstract

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacterium (MH96T) was isolated from diseased larvae of the New Zealand grass grub,Costelytra zealandica(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain MH96Tis a member of the genusYersinia, which is a member of the classGammaproteobacteria. The most similar 16S rRNA gene sequence to that of MH96Tis that of the type strain ofYersinia mollaretii(98.5 % similarity) followed by those of the type strains ofYersinia aldovae,Y. frederikseniiandY. rohdei(all 98.4 % similarity). Multilocus sequence typing of five housekeeping genes (dnaJ,glnA,gyrB,groELandrecA) identifiedYersinia ruckeri(81–92 % similarity) as the closest relative. The results of DNA–DNA hybridization and physiological and biochemical tests allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain MH96Tfrom the four most closely relatedYersiniaspecies with validly published names, including aY. ruckeriisolate. Strain MH96Ttherefore represents a novel species, for which the nameYersinia entomophagasp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain MH96T( = DSM 22339T = ATCC BAA-1678T).