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Bifidobacterium commune sp. nov. isolated from the bumble bee gut

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek volume 107, pages 1307–1313 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Bifidobacteria were isolated from the gut of Bombus lapidarius, Bombus terrestris and Bombus hypnorum bumble bees by direct isolation on modified trypticase phytone yeast extract agar. The MALDI-TOF MS profiles of four isolates (LMG 28292T, R-53560, R-53124, LMG 28626) were found to be identical and did not cluster with the profiles of established Bifidobacterium species. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain LMG 28292T revealed that LMG 28292T is most closely related to the Bifidobacterium bohemicum type strain (96.8 %), which was also isolated from bumble bee gut specimens. The hsp60 gene of strain LMG 28292T shows 85.8 % sequence similarity to that of the B. bohemicum type strain. The (GTG)5-PCR profiles and the hsp60 sequences of all four isolates were indistinguishable; however, three different phenotypes were observed among the four isolates by means of the API 50CHL microtest system. Based on the phylogenetic, genotypic and phenotypic data, we propose to classify the four isolates within the novel species Bifidobacterium commune sp. nov., with LMG 28292T (= DSM 28792T) as the type strain.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge support by Ghent University-Special Research Fund (BOF).

Compliance with ethical standards

The present research involved sampling of bumble bees for which no permission was required as bumble bees are not included in the “Decree of Species (het Soortenbesluit (http://codex.vlaanderen.be/Zoeken/Document.aspx?DID=1018227&param=informatie])” of the Flemish government with inception on 01/09/2009. The authors do not have a conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Jessy Praet, Margo Cnockaert, Maarten Aerts & Peter Vandamme

  2. Laboratory of Agrozoology, Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Ivan Meeus & Guy Smagghe

Authors
  1. Jessy Praet
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  2. Ivan Meeus
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  3. Margo Cnockaert
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  4. Maarten Aerts
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  5. Guy Smagghe
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  6. Peter Vandamme
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Correspondence to Peter Vandamme.

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Praet, J., Meeus, I., Cnockaert, M. et al. Bifidobacterium commune sp. nov. isolated from the bumble bee gut. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 107, 1307–1313 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-015-0425-3

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Keywords

  • Bifidobacteria
  • Bumble bee
  • Gut microbiota
  • Isolation