Corynebacterium mustelae sp. nov., isolated from a ferret with lethal sepsis

Abstract

A non-lipophilic coryneform bacterium, strain 3105T, was isolated from various tissues of a ferret with lethal sepsis. The strain was characterized by phenotypic and chemotaxonomic methods, which suggested an assignment of the isolate to the genusCorynebacterium. Strain 3105Texhibited the following peculiar features that made it possible to differentiate it phenotypically from all other corynebacteria: its distinctive ‘humid cellar’-like odour, strong adherence to agar and a greenish-beige pigment. Strain 3105Texhibited more than 2.8 % 16S rRNA gene sequence divergence from its closest phylogenetic neighbour,CorynebacteriumpseudotuberculosisNCTC 3450T(97.12 % sequence similarity). Analysis of the highly variable region within therpoBgene sequence showed that strain 3105Texhibited more than 14 % divergence from its closest phylogenetic relative, againC. pseudotuberculosis. Based on the data presented, it is proposed that the ferret isolate should be classified within a novel species,Corynebacterium mustelaesp. nov. (type strain 3105T=CCUG 57279T=DSM 45274T).