Staphylococcus delphini sp. nov., a Coagulase-Positive Species Isolated from Dolphins

Abstract

A new coagulase-positive species of the genus Staphylococcus, Staphylococcus delphini, is described on the basis of a study of two strains isolated from purulent skin lesions of dolphins. The new species is established and differentiated from the other coagulase-positive Staphylococcus species primarily on the basis of its deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization relationships, its cell wall composition, its bacteriolytic activity pattern, its penicillin-binding protein profile, its biochemical reactions, and the relatively high guanine-plus-cytosine content of its deoxyribonucleic acid. The type strain is strain Heidy (= DSM 20771).