Niabella hirudinis and Niabella drilacis sp. nov., isolated from the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana

Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria, strains E96(T) and E90(T), were isolated from medicinal leeches (Hirudo verbana) and characterized by a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on the nearly full-length 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that the two strains shared 98.1% sequence similarity and were affiliated with the genus Niabella within the phylum Bacteroidetes, with 94.4-97.6% sequence similarity to type strains of species of the genus Niabella and highest sequence similarity to the type strain of Niabella aurantiaca (97.3 and 97.6%, respectively). Niabella-related 16S rRNA gene sequences were recently detected in the bladders of Hirudo verbana; however, no cultured representatives were so far available. Genomic fingerprint analysis using repetitive element primed (rep)- and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCRs and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments clearly showed that the strains were different from each other (DNA-DNA relatedness values of 39.1%, reciprocal 28.0%) and from the type strains of N. aurantiaca (<19.7%) and Niabella tibetensis (<41.1%). Chemotaxonomic analyses confirmed the affiliation to the genus Niabella. Both strains contained MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone. The major fatty acids of both strains were iso-C15:0, iso-C15:1 G, iso-C17:0 3-OH and summed feature 3 (C16:1ω7c and/or iso-C15:0 2-OH), which is characteristic for the genus Niabella. Based on genotypic, chemotaxonomic and physiological characterization, we propose two novel species of the genus Niabella, Niabella hirudinis sp. nov., with strain E96(T) ( =DSM 25812(T) =CCM 8411(T) =LMG 26956(T)) as the type strain, and Niabella drilacis sp. nov., with strain E90(T) ( =DSM 25811(T) =CCM 8410(T) =LMG 26954(T)) as the type strain.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Description of two novel Bacteroidetes species, Niabella hirudinis (E96T) and Niabella drilacis (E90T), isolated from Hirudo verbana, addressing previously uncultured Niabella-related 16S rRNA gene sequences detected in leech bladders.

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