Description of Three New Species of the Genus Peptostreptococcus from Human Clinical Specimens: Peptostreptococcus harei sp. nov., Peptostreptococcus ivorii sp. nov., and Peptostreptococcus octavius sp. nov

1 Department of Medical Microbiology, Southmead Health Services NHS Trust, Bristol BS10 5NB, United Kingdom 2 Department of Microbiology, Institute of Food Research, Reading RG6 6BZ, United Kingdom 3 Department of Oral Microbiology, St. Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London E1 2AD, United Kingdom 4 Public Health Laboratory, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff CF4 4XW, United Kingdom * Corresponding author: Phone: 0044 1179 595651. Fax: 0044 1179 593154. ABSTRACT In a previous investigation of the laboratory identification of clinical strains of the genus Peptostreptococcus , several isolates were found to be atypical. In this study, we further examined these strains by using both phenotypic and genotypic methods. Based on our findings, we describe the following three new species of the genus Peptostreptococcus from human clinical specimens: Peptostreptococcus harei , whose type strain is DSM 10020 (isolated from a sacral sore); Peptostreptococcus ivorii , whose type strain is DSM 10022 (isolated from a leg ulcer); and Peptostreptococcus octavius , whose type strain is NCTC 9810 (isolated from nasal flora). An analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that all three species are related to Clostridium cluster XIII, which includes most species of the genus Peptostreptococcus . The phenotypic characteristics of the new species are described.