Taxonomic status of the species Clostridium methoxybenzovorans Mechichi et al. 1999

The taxonomic status of the species Clostridium methoxybenzovorans was assessed. The 16S rRNA gene sequence, wholegenome sequence and phenotypic characterizations suggested that the type strain deposited in the American Type Culture Collection (C. methoxybenzovorans ATCC 700855T) is a member of the species Eubacterium callanderi. Hence, C. methoxybenzovorans ATCC 700855T cannot be used as a reference for taxonomic study. The type strain deposited in the German Collection of Microorganism and Cell Cultures GmbH (DSM 12182T) is no longer listed in its online catalogue. Also, both the 16S rRNA gene and the whole- genome sequences of the original strain SR3T showed high sequence identity with those of Lacrimispora indolis (recently reclassified from Clostridium indolis) as the most closely related species. Analysis of the two genomes showed average nucleotide identity based on BLAST and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values of 98.3 and 87.9 %, respectively. Based on these results, C. methoxybenzovorans SR3T was considered to be a member of L. indolis.

Automated summary

The taxonomic status of Clostridium methoxybenzovorans was reassessed, revealing that ATCC 700855T actually belongs to Eubacterium callanderi, not suitable as a reference for taxonomic study. Meanwhile, the original strain SR3T is believed to be a member of Lacrimispora indolis based on high sequence identity and genome analysis.