Dysgonomonas termitidis sp. nov., isolated from the gut of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes speratus

Abstract

A facultatively anaerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterium, strain N-10(T), was isolated from the gut of the termite Reticulitermes speratus. Strain N-10(T) was closely related to Dysgonomonas gadei JCM 16698(T) according to 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity analysis (98 %) and DNA-DNA relatedness value (≤61.3 %). The optimum growth temperature of strain N-10(T) was 30 °C, which was distinct from that (37 °C) of known species of the genus Dysgonomonas. Growth of strain N-10(T) was inhibited on medium containing 5 or 20 % bile, unlike other species of the genus Dysgonomonas. In addition, acid production in the API 20A system and enzymic reactions in the Rapid ID 32A system of strain N-10(T) differed from those of other species of the genus Dysgonomonas. Based on these characteristics, strain N-10(T) represents a novel species of the genus Dysgonomonas, for which the name Dysgonomonas termitidis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N-10(T) ( = JCM 30204(T) = CCUG 66188(T)).