Acinetobacter pragensis sp. nov., found in soil and water ecosystems

This study aimed to define the taxonomic status of a novel, phenetically distinct group of seven strains belonging to the genus Acinetobacter, which were isolated from environmental soil and water samples collected in Central Bohemia, Czech Republic. Comparative sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA, gyrB and rpoB genes showed that all these strains formed respective tight clusters (intracluster sequence similarities of ≥99.8, ≥98.1 and ≥98.3 %, respectively), which were distant from all known Acinetobacter species (≤98.2, ≤84.0 and ≤88.9 %, respectively). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values (≤83.5 and ≤27.4 %, respectively) between the whole-genome sequence of a group representative (strain ANC 4149T) and those of known taxa were far below the thresholds used to discriminate between bacterial species. The seven strains also formed a tight and distinct cluster based on the genus-wide comparison of whole-cell mass fingerprints generated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS and could be distinguished from all other members of the genus Acinetobacter by the combination of their ability to assimilate glutarate and l-tartrate and inability to grow at 37 °C and on l-aspartate. It is concluded that the seven strains represent a novel species for which the name Acinetobacter pragensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ANC 4149T (=CCM 8637T=CCUG 67962T=CNCTC 7530T).