Massilia oculi sp nov., isolated from a human clinical specimen

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacterium (strain CCUG 43427A(T)) was isolated from a patient suffering from endophthalmitis and its taxonomic position was studied. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that this strain was a member of the genus Massilia. Strain CCUG 43427A(T) was most closely related to the type strains of Massilia timonae (97.4% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Massilia aurea (97.2%); levels of similarity to the type strains of all other recognized Massilia species were below 97.0%. Chemotaxonomic data [Q-8 as major ubiquinone; phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol as major polar lipids; and summed feature 3 (C-16:1 omega 7c and/or iso-C-15:0 2-OH), C-16:0, C-18:1 omega 7c, C-12:0 and C-10:0 3-OH as major fatty acids] supported the affiliation of the isolate to the genus Massilia. Levels of DNA-DNA relatedness of strain CCUG 43427A(T) with M. timonae CCUG 45783(T) and M. aurea AP13(T) were 60.6% (reciprocal, 55.8%) and 58.1% (reciprocal, 34.0%), respectively. Strain CCUG 43427A(T) could be differentiated from its closest phylogenetic neighbours based on a range of phenotypic characteristics. Strain CCUG 43427A(T) is therefore considered to represent a novel species of the genus Massilia, for which the name Massilia oculi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CCUG 43427A(T) (=CCM 7900(T)).