Abstract:
A Gram-stain-positive, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, obligately anaerobic bacterium, designated strain BP52G<sup>T</sup>, was isolated from the hindgut of a Silver Drummer (<i>Kyphosus sydneyanus</i>) fish collected from the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that the isolate belonged to the family <i>Erysipelotrichaceae</i> in the phylum Firmicutes and was most closely related to <i>Clostridium saccharogumia</i> with 93.3 % sequence identity. Isolate BP52G<sup>T</sup> grew on agar medium containing mannitol as the sole carbon source. White, opaque and shiny colonies of the isolate measuring approximately 1 mm diameter grew within a week at 20-28 °C (optimum, 24 °C) and pH 6.9-8.5 (optimum, pH 7.8). BP52G<sup>T</sup> tolerated the addition of up to 1 % NaCl to the medium. Formate and acetate were the major fermentation products. The major cellular fatty acids were C<sub>16 : 0</sub>, C<sub>16:1n-7t</sub> and C<sub>18:1n-7t</sub>. The genome sequence of the isolate was determined. Its G+C content was 30.7 mol%, and the 72.65 % average nucleotide identity of the BP52G<sup>T</sup> genome to its closest neighbour with a completely sequenced genome (<i>Erysipelatoclostridium ramosum</i> JCM 1298<sup>T</sup>) indicated low genomic relatedness. Based on the phenotypic and taxonomic characteristics observed in this study, a novel genus and species <i>Tannockella kyphosi</i> gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed for isolate BP52G<sup>T</sup> (=NZRM 4757<sup>T</sup>=JCM 34692<sup>T</sup>).
