title: Reclassification of the larval pathogen for marine bivalves Vibrio tubiashii subsp. europaeus as Vibrio europaeus sp. nov.
abstract: The Orientalis clade has a relevant significance for bivalve aquaculture since it includes the pathogens Vibrio bivalvicida, Vibrio tubiashii subsp. tubiashii and Vibrio tubiashii subsp. europaeus. However, the previous taxonomic description of the subspecies of V. tubiashii shows some incongruities that should be emended. In the genomic age, the comparison between genome assemblies is the key to clarify the taxonomic position of both subspecies. With this purpose, we have tested the ability of multilocus sequence analysis based on eight housekeeping gene sequences (gapA, gyrB, ftsZ, mreB, pyrH, recA, rpoA and topA), different in silico genome-to-genome comparisons, chemotaxonomic features and phenotypic traits to reclassify the subspecies V. tubiashii subsp. europaeus within the Orientalis clade. This polyphasic approach clearly demonstrated that this subspecies is phylogenetically and phenotypically distinct from V. tubiashii and should be elevated to the rank of species as Vibrio europaeus sp. nov. This reclassification allows us to update the Orientalis clade (V. bivalvicida,V. brasiliensis, V. crosai, V. hepatarius, V. orientalis, V. sinaloensis, V. tubiashii and V. europaeus sp. nov.) and reconstruct a better phylogeny of the genus Vibrio. An emended description of V. tubiashii is provided. Finally, the proposed novel species is represented by emergent bivalve pathogens [type strain PP-638T (=CECT 8136T=DSM 27349T), PP2-843 and 07/118 T2] responsible for high mortalities in Spanish and French hatcheries.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, CIBUS-Facultad de Biología, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dubert
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, CIBUS-Facultad de Biología, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Romalde
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA.
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Spinard
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomez-Chiarri
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, CIBUS-Facultad de Biología, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Barja
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017756:Aquaculture; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007814:Larva; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014733:Vibrio / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial