Wolinella gen. nov., Wolinella succinogenes (Vibrio succinogenes Wolin et al.) comb. nov., and Description of Bacteroides gracilis sp. nov., Wolinella recta sp. nov., Campylobacter concisus sp. nov., and Eikenella corrodens from Humans with Periodontal Disease

Abstract

We compared 46 strains of gram-negative, asaccharolytic, rod-shaped bacteria which were isolated from humans with gingivitis, periodontal pockets, and lesions in alveolar bone with 10 reference strains of Eikenella corrodens, Vibrio succinogenes, Bacteroides ureolyticus, and species of Campylobacter. We divided these 56 strains into seven groups based on the guanine-plus-cytosine contents of their deoxyribonucleic acids, their deoxyribonucleic acid homologies, and cluster analyses of their phenotypic features. A total of 23 of the fresh isolates showed more than 90% similarity (Jaccard coefficient) with E. corrodens. Growth of the remaining 23 isolates was enhanced in. broth cultures by formate and fumarate. These isolates were not members of B. ureolyticus, V. succinogenes, or previously described species of Campylobacter, they constituted three distinct new species. We propose Bacteroides gracilis sp. nov. (type strain, ATCC 33236) as the name for seven isolates of slender, gram-negative, nonmotile, anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria that corroded agar and had deoxyribonucleic acid guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 44 to 46 mol%. All of the remaining isolates were motile by means of a single polar flagellum. Ten anaerobic strains were similar to V. succinogenes in phenotypic characteristics and guanine-plus-cytosine contents. However, these strains were distinct from V. succinogenes on the basis of deoxyribonucleic acid homology results. We propose Wolinella as the name of a new genus to include anaerobic, asaccharolytic, rod-shaped bacteria with single polar flagella and deoxyribonucleic acid guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 42 to 49 mol%. Wolinella succinogenes (Wolin et al.) comb. nov. is designated the type species of the genus, and ATCC 29543 is the type strain of W. succinogenes. We propose Wolinella recta sp. nov. (type strain, ATCC 33238) as the name for nine of the strains that formed a related but distinct group. We propose Campylobacter concisus sp. nov. (type strain, ATCC 33237) as the name for the six isolates of noncorroding, microaerophilic, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria that have predominantly curved cells and deoxyribonucleic acid guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 34 to 38 mol%. The description of the genus Campylobacter is amended to include species with deoxyribonucleic acid guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 30 to 38 mol%.