Peptoniphilus methioninivorax sp. nov., a Gram-positive anaerobic coccus isolated from retail ground beef

Strain NRRL B-23883(T) was isolated from retail ground beef as part of a study on the genetic diversity of Clostridium perfringens. The strain was found to be a strictly anaerobic, Gram-positive coccus that was able to utilize peptone as a sole carbon source. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the strain was closely related to species within the genera Peptoniphilus and Anaerosphaera, but it was substantially different from the closest recognized species by nearly 10 % sequence divergence. The strain was also found to be closely related (>99 % sequence similarity) to an uncultured bacterial strain that was sequenced from a 16S rRNA gene clone library constructed to characterize the bacterial community of faeces from a captive spotted hyena. Strain NRRL B-23883(T) shared the peptidoglycan type A4β, l-Orn-d-Glu with members of the genus Peptoniphilus. Further phenotypic analysis revealed that strain NRRL B-23883(T) was able to utilize glycyl l-methionine as a sole carbon source, in contrast to other species of the genus Peptoniphilus. Therefore, it is proposed that the isolate represents a novel species, Peptoniphilus methioninivorax sp. nov.; the type strain is NRRL B-23883(T) ( = DSM 22461(T)).