Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp indicus subsp nov., isolated from Indian dairy products

Four strains isolated from Indian dairy products and initially identified as Lactobacillus delbrueckii could not be assigned to a definite subspecies because molecular identification and phenotypic traits did not agree with those of recognized subspecies of L. delbrueckii. Hybridization of total DNA (78-86 % against type strains of the other three subspecies), AFLP and RAPD-PCR fingerprints, phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and sequence analysis of two coding genes (recA and hsp60), together with phenotypic profiles, indicated that the four strains form a coherent cluster and represent a novel subspecies, for which the name Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. indicus subsp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NCC725(T) (= LMG 22083(T) =DSM 15996(T)).