Serratia myotis sp. nov. and Serratia vespertilionis sp. nov., isolated from bats hibernating in caves

Abstract

During the study of bacteria associated with bats affected by white-nose syndrome hibernating in caves in the Czech Republic, we isolated two facultatively anaerobic, Gram-stain-negative bacteria, designated strains 12T and 52T. Strains 12T and 52T were motile, rod-like bacteria (0.5–0.6 µm in diameter; 1–1.3 µm long), with optimal growth at 20–35 °C and pH 6–8. On the basis of the almost complete sequence of their 16S rRNA genes they should be classified within the genus Serratia ; the closest relatives to strains 12T and 52T were Serratia quinivorans DSM 4597T (99.5 % similarity in 16S rRNA gene sequences) and Serratia ficaria DSM 4569T (99.5 % similarity in 16S rRNA gene sequences), respectively. DNA–DNA relatedness between strain 12T and S. quinivorans DSM 4597T was only 37.1 % and between strain 52T and S. ficaria DSM 4569T was only 56.2 %. Both values are far below the 70 % threshold value for species delineation. In view of these data, we propose the inclusion of the two isolates in the genus Serratia as representatives of Serratia myotis sp. nov. (type strain 12T = CECT 8594T = DSM 28726T) and Serratia vespertilionis sp. nov. (type strain 52T = CECT 8595T = DSM 28727T).