Abstract
B. La Scola, M. N. Mallet, PAD. Grimont and D. Raoult
Unite des Rickettsies, CNRS UPRESA 6020, Faculte de Medecine, Universite de la Mediterrannee, 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France
On the basis of phenotypic characterization and DNA relatedness, two novel species are proposed, Afipia birgiae sp. nov. (type strain 34632(T)=CIP 106344(T)=CCUG 43108(T)) and Afipia massiliensis sp. nov. (type strain 34633(T)=CIP 107022(T)=CCUG 45153(T)). A new genospecies is described, named Afipia felis genospecies A, closely related to Afipia felis. The complexity encountered in the taxonomy of the Bradyrhizobiaceae group within the alpha-2 subgroup of the Proteobacteria is discussed and the description of these novel species highlights the need for new tools for phylogenetic analysis in the group. The novel species herein described are fastidious bacteria isolated from a hospital water supply in co-culture with amoebae. It is hypothesized that this group of bacteria are a potential cause of nosocomial infections.