title: Reclassification of Wolbachia persica as Francisella persica comb. nov. and emended description of the family Francisellaceae.
abstract: The taxonomic status of the bacterium Wolbachia persica is described, and based on the evidence presented, transfer of this species to the genus Francisella as Francisella persica comb. nov. is proposed. This reclassification is supported by data generated from genomic comparisons of W. persica ATCC VR-331T ( = FSC845T = DSM 101678T) to other near neighbours, including Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida. The full-length 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain ATCC VR-331T had 98.5 % nucleotide identity to the cognate gene in F. tularensis, with the highest similarity to subspecies novicida. Phylogenetic trees of full-length 16S rRNA gene, gyrA and recA sequences from species of the genera Wolbachia (class Alphaproteobacteria) and Francisella (class Gammaproteobacteria) indicated that W. persica ATCC VR-331T was most closely related to members of the genus Francisella and not Wolbachia. Local collinear blocks within the chromosome of strain ATCC VR-331T had considerable similarity with F. tularensis subsp. novicida, but not with any Wolbachia strain. The genomes of strain ATCC VR-331T and F. tularensis subsp. novicida Utah 112T ( = ATCC 15482T) contained an average nucleotide identity mean of 88.72 % and median of 89.18 %. Importantly, the genome of strain ATCC VR-331T contained one Francisella Pathogenicity Island, similar to F. tularensis subsp. novicida, as well as the Francisella-specific gene fopA1 and F. tularensis-specific genes fopA2 and lpnA (also referred to as tul4). In contrast to the obligate intracellular genus Wolbachia, strain ATCC VR-331T and facultative intracellular Francisella can replicate in specialized cell-free media. Collectively, these results demonstrate that Wolbachia persica should be reclassified in the genus Francisella as Francisella persica comb. nov. The type strain of Francisella persica comb. nov. is ATCC VR-331T ( = FSC845T = DSM 101678T). An emended description of the family Francisellaceae is also provided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Marilynn A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Ufuk
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nalbantoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sayood
authors.affiliation: OpGen Inc., Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Zentz
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.|Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Regina Zing
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Cer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Iwen
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.|Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Francesconi
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.|Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bishop-Lilly
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Research Center, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Vishwesh P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Mokashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Bacteriology, Umeå University, SE-901 85 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sjöstedt
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hinrichs
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005603:Francisella / Q000145:classification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000145:classification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S