title: Streptococcus hongkongensis sp. nov., isolated from a patient with an infected puncture wound and from a marine flatfish.
abstract: A bacterium, HKU30(T), was isolated from the infected tissue of a patient with wound infection after puncture by a fish fin. Cells are facultative anaerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile, Gram-positive cocci arranged in chains. Colonies were non-haemolytic. The strain was catalase, oxidase, urease and Voges-Proskauer test negative. It reacted with Lancefield's group G antisera and was resistant to optochin. It grew on bile aesculin agar and in 5 % NaCl. It was unidentified by three commercial identification systems. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the bacterium shared 98.2, 97.7, 97.4 and 97.1 % nucleotide identities with Streptococcus iniae, Streptococcus pseudoporcinus, Streptococcus parauberis and Streptococcus uberis, respectively. The DNA G+C content was 35.6 ± 0.9 mol% (mean ± sd). In view of the occupational exposure of the patient, an epidemiological study was performed to isolate the bacterium from marine fish. Two strains, with similar phenotypic and genotypic characteristics to those of HKU30(T), were isolated from a three-lined tongue sole (Cynoglossus abbreviatus) and an olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of four additional housekeeping genes, groEL, gyrB, sodA and rpoB, showed that the three isolates formed a distinct branch among known species of the genus Streptococcus, being most closely related to S. parauberis (CCUG 39954(T)). DNA-DNA hybridization demonstrated ≤ 53.8 % DNA relatedness between the three isolates and related species of the genus Streptococcus. A novel species, Streptococcus hongkongensis sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is HKU30(T) ( = DSM 26014(T) = CECT 8154(T)).
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Hong Kong, PR China.|Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.|Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.|Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.
authors.forename: Susanna K P
authors.initials: SKP
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.
authors.forename: Shirly O T
authors.initials: SOT
authors.lastname: Curreem
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kwong Wah Hospital, Hong Kong, PR China.
authors.forename: Cherry C N
authors.initials: CCN
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.
authors.forename: Ami M Y
authors.initials: AMY
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.affiliation: Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.|Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.|State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Hong Kong, PR China.|Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.
authors.forename: Kwok-Yung
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.affiliation: Research Centre of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.|Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.|State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Hong Kong, PR China.|Carol Yu Centre for Infection, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.
authors.forename: Patrick C Y
authors.initials: PCY
authors.lastname: Woo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005412:Flatfishes / Q000382:microbiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010802:Phylogeny; D011677:Punctures; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S