title: The genus Listonella MacDonell and Colwell 1986 is a later heterotypic synonym of the genus Vibrio Pacini 1854 (Approved Lists 1980)--a taxonomic opinion.
abstract: We analysed the taxonomic position of the genus Listonella based on phylogenetic, genomic and phenotypic data. The species of the genus Listonella were nested within the genus Vibrio according to the 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic tree. The closest neighbour of Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum strains LMG 4437(T) and ATCC 68554 (=strain 775) was Vibrio ordalii LMG 13544(T), with more than 99.5% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Furthermore, Vibrio (Listonella) pelagius is highly related to Vibrio splendidus. According to average amino acid identity (AAI), multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) and Karlin genome signature, the closest neighbour of L. anguillarum ATCC 68554 is V. ordalii LMG 13544(T), with 95% AAI, 98% MLSA and 5 in Karlin. V. anguillarum ATCC 68554 and Vibrio cholerae N16961 had 77% similarity in AAI, 85% in MLSA and 14 in the Karlin signature. Phenotypic analyses of previously published data for V. (L.) anguillarum and V. (L.) pelagius revealed that the genus Listonella is extremely similar to the genus Vibrio. V. ordalii and L. anguillarum strains yielded up to 67% DNA-DNA hybridization. There are only a few phenotypic features that might be used to discriminate these two species: L. anguillarum is positive for the Voges-Proskauer reaction, citrate utilization, starch hydrolysis, lipase activity and acid production from glycerol, sorbitol and trehalose, whereas V. ordalii is negative for these traits. We suggest that the genus Listonella is a later heterotypic synonym of the genus Vibrio and propose to use the names Vibrio anguillarum and Vibrio pelagius in place of Listonella anguillarum and Listonella pelagia, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabiano L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Microorganisms, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristiane C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil.
authors.forename: Graciela M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Mail Code L220, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201-3098, USA.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Naka
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Mail Code L220, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201-3098, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dubay
authors.affiliation: Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Mail Code L220, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201-3098, USA.
authors.forename: Jorge H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Crosa
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D053526:Listonella / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D014733:Vibrio / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S