Vaginimicrobium propionicum gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel propionic acid bacterium derived from human vaginal discharge

A Gram-stain-positive anaerobic rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain Marseille-P3275T, was isolated using culturomics from the vaginal discharge of healthy French woman. Marseille-P3275T was non-motile and did not form spores. Cells had neither catalase nor oxidase activity. The major fatty acids were C16 : 0 (29 %), C18:1ω9 (18 %), and iso-C15 : 0 (17 %). The genomic DNA G+C content was 50.64 mol%. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that Marseille-P3275T was related to members of the family Propionibacteriaceae (between 90.32–92.92 % sequence similarity) with formation of a clade with the monospecific genus Propionimicrobium (type species Propionimicrobium lymphophilum ). On the basis of these phylogenetic and phenotypic differences, Marseille-P3275T was classified in a novel genus, Vaginimicrobium, as Vaginimicrobium propionicum gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is Marseille-P3275T (=CSUR P3275T=CECT 9677T).