Lactobacillus nasalidis sp. nov., isolated from the forestomach of a captive proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus)

Three strains (YZ01(T), YZ02 and YZ03) of Gram-stain-positive, facultatively anaerobic rods were isolated from the forestomach contents collected from a captive male proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) at Yokohama Zoo in Japan. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that these strains belonged to the genus Lactobacillus. Based on the sequence similarity of the 16S rRNA gene, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. indicus JCM 15610(T) was the closest phylogenetic neighbour to YZ01(T). Sequence analyses of two partial concatenated housekeeping genes, the RNA polymerase alpha subunit (rpoA) and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthase alpha subunit (pheS) also indicated that the novel strains belonged to the genus Lactobacillus. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) between L. delbrueckii subsp. indicus and YZ01(T) were 85.9 and 31.4%, respectively. The phylogenetic tree based on the whole genomic data of strains YZ01(T), YZ02 and YZ03 suggested that these three strains formed a single monophyletic cluster in the genus Lactobacillus, indicating that it belonged to a new species. The DNA G+C content of strain YZ01(T) was 51.6 mol%. The major fatty acids were C-16:0 and C-18: 1 omega 9c. Therefore, based on phylogenetic, phenotypic and physiological evidence, strains YZ01(T), YZ02 and YZ03 represent a novel species of the genus Lactobacillus, for which the name Lactobacillus nasalidis sp. nov. is proposed with the type strain YZ01(T) (=JCM 33769(T)=DSM 110539(T)).

Automated summary

Three new strains of Lactobacillus were isolated from the stomach contents of a captive male proboscis monkey in Japan. Phylogenetic analysis indicated they formed a separate species within the genus Lactobacillus. The new species was named Lactobacillus nasalidis sp. nov. based on genetic and physiological evidence.