Lactobacillus bombi sp. nov., from the digestive tract of laboratory-reared bumblebee queens (Bombus terrestris)

Three bacterial strains belonging to the genus Lactobacillus were isolated from the digestive tracts of laboratory-reared bumblebee queens (Bombus terrestris) using MRS agar under anaerobic conditions. The isolates were identified according to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis as undescribed members of the genus Lactobacillus, with the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (96.9 %) to the uncharacterized bacterial strain Lactobacillus sp. Mboho2r2 isolated from the stomach of a European honeybee (Apis mellifera). Lactobacillus tucceti was found to be the closest related species with a validly published name, with 92.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the type strain. However, phylogenetic analyses based on different markers revealed that this species is phylogenetically very distant from the novel strains. The DNA G+C content of the proposed type strain BTLCH M1/2(T) is 37.8 mol%. The fatty acids C(19 : 1)ω6c and/or C(19 : 0) cyclo ω10c/19ω6, C(18 : 1)ω9c and C(16 : 0) were predominant in all strains. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, a phospholipid, seven glycolipids and two phosphoglycolipids were detected in the novel strains. Growth was observed at 47 °C. The peptidoglycan type A4α L-Lys-D-Asp was determined for strain BTLCH M1/2(T). Genotypic characteristics and phylogenetic analyses based on the phylogenetic markers hsp60, pheS, rpoA and tuf as well as phenotypic characteristics and the results of chemotaxonomic analyses confirmed that the new isolates belong to a novel species of the genus Lactobacillus, for which the name Lactobacillus bombi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BTLCH M1/2(T) ( = DSM 26517(T) = CCM 8440(T)).