Open AccessReclassification of Catabacter hongkongensis as Christensenella hongkongensis comb. nov. based on whole genome analysis
Author(s) -
Xiaoying Li,
Jessica L. Sutter,
Jacobo de la Cuesta-Zuluaga,
Jillian L. Waters,
Nicholas D. Youngblut,
Ruth E. Ley
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1466-5034
pISSN - 1466-5026
DOI - 10.1099/ijsem.0.004774
Subject(s) - biology , polyphyly , clade , phylogenetic tree , monophyly , genome , genus , genetics , whole genome sequencing , evolutionary biology , zoology , gene
The genera Catabacter (family ' Catabacteraceae ') and Christensenella (family Christensenellaceae ) are close relatives within the phylum Firmicutes . Members of these genera are strictly anaerobic, non-spore-forming and short straight rods with diverse phenotypes. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes suggest that Catabacter splits Christensenella into a polyphyletic clade. In an effort to ensure that family/genus names represent monophyletic clades, we performed a whole-genome based analysis of the genomes available for the cultured representatives of these genera: four species of Christensenella and two strains of Catabacter hongkongensis . A concatenated alignment of 135 shared protein sequences of single-copy core genes present in the included strains indicates that C. hongkongensis is indeed nested within the Christensenella clade. Based on their evolutionary relationship, we propose the transfer of Catabacter hongkongensis to the genus Christensenella as Christensenella hongkongensis comb. nov.