Corynebacterium camporealensis sp. nov., associated with subclinical mastitis in sheep

Four strains of a hitherto-unknown catalase-positive, facultatively anaerobic Corynebacterium species were isolated from the milk of sheep affected by subclinical mastitis. The most characteristic phenotypic reactions of the four strains were their weak fermentative acid production from glucose, their failure to produce acid from mannitol, xylose, sucrose and maltose, and a strong CAMP reaction with Staphylococcus aureus. Chemotaxonomic investigations revealed the presence of a cell wall based on meso-diaminopimelic acid and short-chain mycolic acids, which is consistent with the genus Corynebacterium. A comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis confirmed that the organisms from sheep were members of the genus Corynebacterium, where they formed a distinct subline, exhibiting > 4% sequence divergence with other known Corynebacterium species. Based on both phenotypic and phylogenetic findings, a new species, Corynebacterium camporealensis, is proposed. The type strain of Corynebacterium camporealensis is CECT 4897 (= CRS-51T).