Corynebacterium tapiri sp nov and Corynebacterium nasicanis sp nov., isolated from a tapir and a dog, respectively

Two Gram-stain-positive bacterial isolates, strain 2385/12(T) and strain 2673/12(T) were isolated from a tapir and a dog's nose, respectively. The two strains were rod to coccoid-shaped, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. The highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity identified Corynebacterium singulare CCUG 37330(T) (96.3 % similarity) as the nearest relative of strain 2385/12(T) and suggested the isolate represented a novel species. Corynebacterium humireducens DSM 45392(T) (98.7 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) was identified as the nearest relative of strain 2673/12(T). Results from DNA-DNA hybridization with the type strain of C. humireducens demonstrated that strain 2673/12(T) also represented a novel species. Strain 2385/12(T) showed a quinone system consisting predominantly of menaquinones MK-8(H-2) and MK-9(H-2) whereas strain 2673/12(T) contained only MK-8(H-2) as predominant quinone. The polar lipid profiles of the two strains showed the major compounds phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified glycolipid. Phosphatidylinositol was identified as another major lipid in 2673/12(T) whereas it was only found in moderate amounts in strain 2385/12(T). Furthermore, moderate to minor amounts of phosphatidylinositol-mannoside, beta-gentiobiosyl diacylglycerol and variable counts of several unidentified lipids were detected in the two strains. Both strains contained corynemycolic acids. The polyamine patterns were characterized by the major compound putrescine in strain 2385/12(T) and spermidine in strain 2673/12(T). In the fatty acid profiles, predominantly C-18 : 1 omega 9c and C-16 : 0 were detected. The two strains are distinguishable from each other and the nearest related established species of the genus Corynebacterium phylogenetically and phenotypically. In conclusion, two novel species of the genus Corynebacterium are proposed, namely Corynebacterium tapiri sp. nov. (type strain, 2385/12(T)=CCUG 65456(T)=LMG 28165(T)) and Corynebacterium nasicanis sp. nov. (type strain, 2673/12(T)=CCUG 65455(T)=LMG 28166(T)).