Streptococcus ursoris sp. nov., isolated from the oral cavities of bears.
Three Gram-positive, catalase-negative, coccus-shaped organisms were isolated from the oral cavities of bears. The isolates were tentatively identified as a streptococcal species based on the results of biochemical tests. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies confirmed that the organisms were members of the genus Streptococcus, but they did not correspond to any recognized species of the genus. The nearest phylogenetic relative of the new isolates was Streptococcus ratti ATCC 19645(T) (98.6 %), however, DNA-DNA hybridization analysis showed that the isolates displayed less than 15 % DNA-DNA relatedness with the type strain of S. ratti. Colonies of the novel strains grown on mitis salivarius agar showed an extracellular polysaccharide-producing colony morphology. Based on phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence, it is proposed that the novel isolates are classified in the genus Streptococcus as Streptococcus ursoris sp. nov. The type strain of S. ursoris is NUM 1615(T) (=JCM 16316(T)=DSM 22768(T)).
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Matsudo, Chiba 271-8587, Japan.
Noriko
N
Shinozaki-Kuwahara
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Matsudo, Chiba 271-8587, Japan.
Kazuko
K
Takada
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Matsudo, Chiba 271-8587, Japan.
Masatomo
M
Hirasawa
D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D001503:Ursidae / Q000382:microbiology*
D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S