Identification of a novel 16S rRNA gene variant of Actinomyces funkei from six patients with purulent infections

Little is known about the clinical significance and laboratory diagnosis of Actinomyces funkei. In this report we describe six clinical cases where A. funkei was isolated from purulent, polymicrobial infections. Conventional identification procedures were compared with molecular methods including matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry technique. Analysis of the full 16S rRNA gene sequence of the six investigated strains revealed differences from the A. funkei type strain. DNA–DNA hybridization showed that the clinical strains represent a novel 16S rRNA gene variant within the species of A. funkei.