Enterobacter pulveris sp nov., isolated from fruit powder, infant formula and an infant formula production environment

Six Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, non-spore-forming, coccoid rod-shaped isolates were obtained from fruit powder (n=3), infant formula (n=2) and an infant formula production environment (n=1) and investigated in a polyphasic taxonomic study. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis combined with rpoB gene sequence analysis allocated the isolates to the family Enterobacteriaceae. The highest rpoB gene sequence similarities (91.2 - 95.8%) were obtained with Enterobacter helveticus, Enterobacter radicincitans, Enterobacter turicensis and Enterobacter sakazakii and the phylogenetic branch formed by these species was supported by a high bootstrap value. Biochemical data revealed that the isolates could be differentiated from their nearest neighbours by their ability to utilize melibiose, sucrose, D-arabitol, mucate and 1-O-methyl-alpha-galactopyranoside and their negative reactions for D-sorbitol utilization and the Voges-Proskauer test. On the basis of the phylogenetic analyses, DNA - DNA hybridization data, and unique physiological and biochemical characteristics, it is proposed that the isolates represent a novel species of the genus Enterobacter, Enterobacter pulveris sp. nov. The type strain is 601/05(T) (=LMG 24057(T)=DSM 19144(T)).