Bacillus wiedmannii sp nov., a psychrotolerant and cytotoxic Bacillus cereus group species isolated from dairy foods and dairy environments

A facultatively anaerobic, spore-forming Bacillus strain, FSL W8-0169(T), collected from raw milk stored in a silo at a dairy powder processing plant in the north-eastern USA was initially identified as a Bacillus cereus group species based on a partial sequence of the rpoB gene and 16S rRNA gene sequence. Analysis of core genome single nucleotide polymorphisms clustered this strain separately from known B. cereus group species. Pairwise average nucleotide identity BLAST values obtained for FSL W8-0169(T) compared to the type strains of existing B. cereus group species were <95% and predicted DNA-DNA hybridization values were <70 %, suggesting that this strain represents a novel B. cereus group species. We characterized 10 additional strains with the same or closely related rpoB allelic type, by whole genome sequencing and phenotypic analyses. Phenotypic characterization identified a higher content of iso-C-16 : 0 fatty acid and the combined inability to ferment sucrose or to hydrolyse arginine as the key characteristics differentiating FSL W8-0169(T) from other B. cereus group species. FSL W8-0169 (T) is psychrotolerant, produces haemolysin BL and non-haemolytic enterotoxin, and is cytotoxic in a HeLa cell model. The name Bacillus wiedmannii sp. nov. is proposed for the novel species represented by the type strain FSL W8-0169(T) (=DSM 102050(T) =LMG 29269(T)).