title: Vibrio casei sp. nov., isolated from the surfaces of two French red smear soft cheeses.
abstract: Three Gram-negative, rod-shaped, catalase- and oxidase-positive, facultatively anaerobic and motile bacteria, strains WS 4538, WS 4539T and WS 4540, were isolated from the surfaces of two fully ripened French red smear soft cheeses. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, all three strains were shown to belong to the genus Vibrio. They are most closely related to Vibrio rumoiensis S-1T (96.3% similarity) and Vibrio litoralis MANO22DT (95.9%). DNA-DNA hybridization confirmed that all three isolates belong to the same species and clearly separated strain WS 4539T from V. rumoiensis DSM 19141T (38-42% relatedness) and V. litoralis DSM 17657(T) (28-37%). In contrast to their nearest relatives, the strains exhibited beta-galactosidase and aesculin hydrolase activities. A 14 bp insertion in the 16S rRNA gene sequence forms an elongated structure at helix 10 in the rRNA molecule and provides a tool for PCR-based identification of the novel species. Partial sequences of the housekeeping genes atpA, recA, rpoA and pyrH supported the conclusion that the three isolates constitute a separate species within the genus Vibrio. The name Vibrio casei sp. nov. is proposed for the novel taxon. Strain WS 4539T (=DSM 22364T =LMG 25240T; DNA G+C content 41.8 mol%) is the type strain and WS 4540 (=DSM 22378 =LMG 25241) is a reference strain.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Mikrobiologie, ZIEL, Technische Universität München, D-85354 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bleicher
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Mikrobiologie, ZIEL, Technische Universität München, D-85354 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neuhaus
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Mikrobielle Ökologie, Department für Grundlagen der Biowissenschaften, WZW, Technische Universität München, D-85350 Freising, Germany.|Abteilung für Mikrobiologie, ZIEL, Technische Universität München, D-85354 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scherer
mesh_terms: D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D014733:Vibrio / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D001616:beta-Galactosidase