Streptococcuspantholopis sp. nov., isolated from faeces of the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii)

Two bacterial strains were isolated from faecal samples of Tibetan antelopes. The isolates were Gram-stain-positive, catalase-negative, coccus-shaped organisms that were tentatively identified as representing a novel streptococcal species based on their morphological features, biochemical test results and phylogenomic findings. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies confirmed that the organisms were members of the genus Streptococcus, but they did not correspond to any recognized species of the genus. The nearest phylogenetic relative of the unknown coccus was Streptococcus ursoris NUM 1615T (93.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). Analysis of groEL and rpoB gene sequences of the novel isolates showed interspecies divergence of 27.0 and 22.2 %, respectively, from the type strain of its closest 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic relative, S. ursoris. The complete genome of strain TA 26T has been sequenced. Digital DNA-DNA hybridization studies between strain TA 26T and other species of the genus Streptococcus deposited in the GenBank database showed less than 70 % DNA-DNA relatedness, supporting a novel species status of the strain. On the basis of their genotypic and phenotypic differences from recognized Streptococcus species, the two isolates represent a novel species of the genus Streptococcus, for which the nameStreptococcus pantholopis sp. nov. (type strain TA 26T=CGMCC 1.15667T=DSM 102135T) is proposed.