title: Brucella vulpis sp. nov., isolated from mandibular lymph nodes of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).
abstract: Two slow-growing, Gram-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, coccoid bacteria (strains F60T and F965), isolated in Austria from mandibular lymph nodes of two red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), were subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic analysis. In a recent study, both isolates were assigned to the genus Brucella but could not be attributed to any of the existing species. Hence, we have analysed both strains in further detail to determine their exact taxonomic position and genetic relatedness to other members of the genus Brucella. The genome sizes of F60T and F965 were 3 236 779 and 3 237 765 bp, respectively. Each genome consisted of two chromosomes, with a DNA G+C content of 57.2 %. A genome-to-genome distance of >80 %, an average nucleotide identity (ANI) of 97 % and an average amino acid identity (AAI) of 98 % compared with the type species Brucella melitensis confirmed affiliation to the genus. Remarkably, 5 % of the entire genetic information of both strains was of non-Brucella origin, including as-yet uncharacterized bacteriophages and insertion sequences as well as ABC transporters and other genes of metabolic function from various soil-living bacteria. Core-genome-based phylogenetic reconstructions placed the novel species well separated from all hitherto-described species of the genus Brucella, forming a long-branched sister clade to the classical species of Brucella. In summary, based on phenotypic and molecular data, we conclude that strains F60T and F965 are members of a novel species of the genus Brucella, for which the name Brucella vulpis sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain F60T ( = BCCN 09-2T = DSM 101715T).
authors.affiliation: Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology and German Center for Infection Research (DZIF),Neuherbergstrasse 11, D-80937 Munich,Germany.
authors.forename: Holger C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Scholz
authors.affiliation: AGES, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control,Robert Koch-Gasse 17, A-2340 Mödling,Austria.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Revilla-Fernández
authors.affiliation: Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety,Diedersdorfer Weg 1, D-12277 Berlin,Germany.
authors.forename: Sascha Al
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Dahouk
authors.affiliation: Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety,Diedersdorfer Weg 1, D-12277 Berlin,Germany.
authors.forename: Jens A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hammerl
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1282, Infectiologie et Santé Publique,F-37380 Nouzilly,France.|Université François Rabelais de Tours, UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique,F-37000 Tours,France.
authors.forename: Michel S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Zygmunt
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1282, Infectiologie et Santé Publique,F-37380 Nouzilly,France.|Université François Rabelais de Tours, UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique,F-37000 Tours,France.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cloeckaert
authors.affiliation: OIE/WHO/FAO Brucellosis Reference Laboratory, Department of Bacteriology, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA),Woodham Lane, Addlestone KT15 3NB,UK.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koylass
authors.affiliation: OIE/WHO/FAO Brucellosis Reference Laboratory, Department of Bacteriology, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA),Woodham Lane, Addlestone KT15 3NB,UK.
authors.forename: Adrian M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Whatmore
authors.affiliation: Center for Biotechnology, CeBiTec, Universität Bielefeld,Bielefeld,Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blom
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay,Orsay,France.|ENSTA ParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay,Palaiseau,France.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vergnaud
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunobiology and Genetics, MFPL Laboratories, University of Vienna,Vienna,Austria.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Witte
authors.affiliation: Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology and German Center for Infection Research (DZIF),Neuherbergstrasse 11, D-80937 Munich,Germany.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aistleitner
authors.affiliation: AGES, Institute for Veterinary Disease Control,Robert Koch-Gasse 17, A-2340 Mödling,Austria.
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hofer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001317:Austria; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D001482:Base Composition; D002002:Brucella / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005589:Foxes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial