Comprehensive genome analysis of five novel flavobacteria: Flavobacterium piscisymbiosum sp. nov., Flavobacterium pisciphilum sp. nov., Flavobacterium flavipigmentatum sp. nov., Flavobacterium lipolyticum sp. nov. and Flavobacterium cupriresistens sp. nov.

Eight isolates were obtained through a study on culture-dependent bacteria from fish farms and identified as members of the genus Flavobacterium based on pairwise analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences. The highest pairwise identity values were calculated as 98.8 % for strain F-30 T and Flavobacterium bizetiae, 99.0 % for strain F-65 T and Flavobacterium branchiarum, 98.7 % for strain F-126 T and Flavobacterium tructae, 98.2 % for strain F-323 T and Flavobacterium cupreum while 99.7 % identity level was detected for strain F-70 T and Flavobacterium geliluteum. In addition, strains F-33, Fl-77, and F-70 T shared 100 % identical 16S rRNA genes, while strains F-323 T and Fl-318 showed 99.9 % identity. A polyphasic approach including comparative analysis of whole-genome data was employed to ascertain the taxonomic provenance of the strains. In addition to the morphological, physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic characteristics of the strains, the overall genome-relatedness indices of dDDH and ANI below the established thresholds confirmed the classification of the strains as five novel species within the genus Flavobacterium. The comprehensive genome analyses of the strains were also conducted to determine the biosynthetic gene clusters, virulence features and ecological distribution patterns. Based on the polyphasic characterisations, including comparative genome analyses, it is concluded that strains F-30 T, F-65 T, F-70 T, F126T and F-323 T represent five novel species within the genus Flavobacterium for which Flavobacterium piscisymbiosum sp. nov. F-30 T (=JCM 34194 T = KCTC 82254 T), Flavobacterium pisciphilum sp. nov. F-65 T (=JCM 34197 T = KCTC 82257 T), Flavobacterium flavipigmentatum sp. nov. F-70 T (Fl-33 = Fl-77 = JCM 34198 T = KCTC 82258 T), Flavobacterium lipolyticum sp. nov. F-126 T (JCM 34199 T = KCTC 82259 T) and Flavobacterium cupriresistens sp. nov. F-323 T (Fl-318 = JCM 34200 T = KCTC 82260 T), are proposed.

Flavobacterium acetivorans sp. nov. and Flavobacterium galactosidilyticum sp. nov., psychrotolerant flavobacteria isolated from cultivated fish.

Two yellow-coloured strains, F-29T and F-340T, were isolated from fish farms in Antalya and Mugla in 2015 and 2017 during surveillance studies. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that both strains belong to the genus Flavobacterium. A polyphasic approach involving a comprehensive genome analysis was employed to ascertain the taxonomic provenance of the strains. The overall genome-relatedness indices of digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) between the strains and the other members of the genus Flavobacterium were found to be well below the established thresholds of 70 and 95 %, respectively. The whole-genome-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain F-29T is closely related to Flavobacterium granuli (dDDH 39.3 % and ANI 89.4 %), while strain F-340T has a close relationship with the type strain of Flavobacterium pygoscelis (dDDH 25.6 % and ANI 81.5 %). Both strains were psychrotolerant with an optimum growth temperature of 25 °C. The chemotaxonomic characteristics of the strains were typical of the genus Flavobacterium. Both strains had phosphatidylethanolamine, aminolipids and unidentified lipids in their polar lipid profile and MK-6 as the isoprenoid quinone. The major fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0. The genome size of the strains was 3.5 Mb, while G+C contents were 35.3 mol% for strain F-29T and 33.4 mol% for strain F-340T. Overall, the characterizations confirmed that both strains are representatives of two novel species within the genus Flavobacterium, for which the names Flavobacterium acetivorans sp. nov. and Flavobacterium galactosidilyticum sp. nov. are proposed, with F-29T (JCM 34193T=KCTC 82253T) and F-340T (JCM 34203T=KCTC 82263T) as the type strains, respectively.

ISOLATION OF STREPTOCOCCI FROM A FATAL CASE OF MYOCARDITIS IN A CAPTIVE BROWN BEAR (URSUS ARCTOS).

A 10-yr-old, male brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) from Bursa Zoo in Turkey died without any apparent signs. Severe purulent pericarditis and myocarditis with mild ascites, lung edema, and moderate liver congestion were observed during necropsy. Microscopically, there were severe neutrophilic infiltrations in the myocardium and thoracic lymph nodes. A member of the Streptococcus bovis - Streptococcus equinus complex (SBSEC) was isolated and identified phenotypically.