Lonepinella koalarum gen. nov., sp. nov., a New Tannin-Protein Complex Degrading Bacterium

The phylogeny of bacteria that degrade a tannin-protein complex (T-PC) isolated from the fecal biota of koala was investigated. All T-PC degrading bacteria were facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods, producing tannase, but negative for catalase and oxidase activities. The 16S rDNA sequence analyses of eight T-PC degrading strains representing biovars a, b, c, and d, revealed that the strains formed a phylogeneric cluster within the family Pasteurellaceae. Furthermore seven strains of biovar a, b, and c formed a 16S rDNA sub-cluster with similarity values in the range 97.6 to 99.8%. As the strains also exhibit a combination of chemotaxonomic and physiological properties not found in other members of the family Pasteurellaceae, it was concluded that the T-PC degrading isolates of biovar a, b, and c represent a new genus and species, for which the name Lonepinella koalarum gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed.