Devosia epidermidihirudinis sp. nov. isolated from the surface of a medical leech
Taxonomy paper published in Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (2013)
Abstract
A Gram-negative, rod-shaped organism, isolated from the surface of the medical leech Hirudo verbana was characterized phenotypically and genotypically. The calculated 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to those of the most closely related species grouped strain E84(T) into the genus Devosia showing the highest similarities to Devosia limi (98.1 %), followed by Devosia psychrophila (97.9 %), Devosia neptuniae (97.3 %), and Devosia glacialis (97.5 %). Chemotaxonomic analyses showed that the major quinone was ubiquinone Q-10. The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and three glycolipids. The major fatty acid profile consisted of C18:1 ω7c 11-methyl, C19:0 cyclo ω8c, and C16:0, C18:0 and C18:1 ω7c with C18:0 3OH as hydroxylated fatty acid. This profile is very similar to those of the patterns reported for the already described Devosia species. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization, physiological and biochemical tests allowed both genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain E84(T) from all other Devosia species suggesting a novel species for which the name Devosia epidermidihirudinis sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain E84(T) (=CIP 110375(T) = LMG 26909(T) = CCM 8398(T)).
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Summary
Description of Devosia epidermidihirudinis sp. nov. (E84T) isolated from Hirudo verbana surface, expanding the inventory of leech-associated alpha-Proteobacteria.
Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy
CONTEXT CAVEAT — this is a bacterial taxonomy paper, not a therapeutic study (and not a naming collision: the source organism is the genuine medicinal leech Hirudo verbana). It characterizes a Gram-negative rod isolated from the surface of Hirudo verbana and, on the basis of 16S rRNA similarity (closest to Devosia limi, 98.1 %), chemotaxonomy, fatty-acid and polar-lipid profiles, and DNA-DNA hybridization, proposes it as a new species, Devosia epidermidihirudinis (type strain E84T). For ASH its relevance is narrow and microbiological: it expands the catalog of bacteria on the leech's skin, contributing to the picture of the leech-associated microbiome relevant to understanding the animal and its handling. There is no clinical, pharmacological, or secretome finding here — the paper neither implies a therapeutic role nor reports pathogenicity or treatment outcome — so it must not be framed as supporting hirudotherapy efficacy or as describing a leech-derived drug.
Citation
Devosia epidermidihirudinis sp. nov. isolated from the surface of a medical leech.
Galatis H, Martin K, Kämpfer P, Glaeser SP · Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, 2013
Added to ASH library: May 26, 2026 · Site last updated: June 18, 2026