Formicincola oecophyllae gen. nov. sp. nov., a novel member of the family Acetobacteraceae isolated from the weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina

In this study, a novel bacterium designated F3b2(T) was isolated from the gut sample of weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina and characterised. Strain F3b2(T) was a Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile, ovoid-shaped bacterium and grows optimally at 28-30 degrees C. Its major respiratory quinone is ubiquinone 10 (Q-10) and the major fatty acids are C-18:1 omega 7c, C-19:0 cyclo omega 8c and C-16:0, representing 85% of the total fatty acids. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain F3b2(T) was highest in similarity to that of Oecophyllibacter saccharovorans DSM106907(T) and Swingsia samuieinsis NBRC 107927(T) at 94.35% and 91.96%, respectively. A 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis and a core genes-based phylogenomic analysis placed strain F3b2(T) in a distinct lineage in the family Acetobacteraceae. The phylogenetic placement was supported by lower than species delineation threshold average nucleotide identity (ANI) (<= 70.2%), in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (DDH) (<= 39.5%) and average amino acid identity (AAI) (<= 63.5%) values between strain F3b2(T) and closest neighbours. These overall genome relatedness indices also supported the assignment of strain F3b2(T) to a novel genus within Acetobacteraceae. The genome of strain F3b2(T) was 1.96 Mb with 60.4% G + C DNA content. Based on these results, strain F3b2(T) represented a novel taxon of Acetobacteraceae, for which we proposed the name Formicincola oecophyllae gen. nov. sp. nov., and strain F3b2(T) (= LMG 30590(T) = DSM 106908(T) = NBRC 113640(T) = KCTC 62951(T)) as the type strain.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel bacterium named Formicincola oecophyllae gen. nov. sp. nov. was isolated from the gut of weaver ant. It belongs to the family Acetobacteraceae and has distinct characteristics in morphology, physiology, and gene sequence compared to its closest relatives.