ABSTRACTIn two previous studies dealing with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from modified-atmosphere-packaged (MAP) broiler products and a broiler processing plant, several isolates remained unidentified. According to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, 36 isolates were assigned to the genusEnterococcus.Numerical analysis of combined HindIII and EcoRI ribopatterns of these isolates resulted in species-specific clusters that were congruent with the clusters obtained by both DNA-directed RNA polymerase subunit A (rpoA) and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase α chain (pheS) housekeeping gene analyses. In the analyses, a group of five isolates distinct from any known enterococcal species clustered together. The five isolates were positioned in theEnterococcus aviumgroup, withE. devrieseibeing the closest phylogenetic neighbor. The DNA-DNA hybridization levels withE. devrieseiranged from 28.8 to 54.3% and indicated that these strains represented a novel species. The nameEnterococcus viikkiensissp. nov. is proposed, with strain DSM 24043T(LMG 26075T) being the type strain. Our study demonstrated that the identification of enterococci within theE. aviumphylogenetic group demands polyphasic taxonomic approaches. TherpoAandpheSgene similarities (99.0 to 99.2% and 94.3 to 95.4%, respectively) betweenE. viikkiensisand its closest phylogenetic neighbor,E. devriesei, were higher than those previously reported within the enterococci. In addition, the phenotypic profiles of the species in theE. aviumgroup were also highly similar, and some traits were found to be misleading for enterococci, such asE. viikkiensisdoes not grow at 45°C. The numerical analysis of combined HindIII and EcoRI ribopatterns was of considerable assistance in distinguishing enterococcal species within theE. aviumgroup.
Identification of Enterococci from Broiler Products and a Broiler Processing Plant and Description ofEnterococcus viikkiensissp. nov.
