Characterization of the phylogenetic diversity of two novel species belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium : Bifidobacterium cebidarum sp. nov. and Bifidobacterium leontopitheci sp. nov

Two strains, i.e., 2176B and 2177B , were isolated from Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin ( ) and Goeldi's monkey ( ). Isolates were shown to be Gram-positive, non-motile, non-sporulating, facultative anaerobic and d-fructose 6-phosphate phosphoketolase-positive. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA sequences, multilocus sequences (including 60, B, J, G and C genes) and the core genome revealed that bifidobacterial strains 2176B and 2177B exhibit close phylogenetic relatedness to DSM 103139 and LMG 11041 , respectively. Further genotyping based on the genome sequence of the isolated strains combined with phenotypic analyses, clearly show that these strains are distinct from each of the type strains of the so far recognized species. Thus, sp. nov. (2176B =LMG 31469 =CCUG 73785 ) and sp. nov. (2177B =LMG 31471 =CCUG 73786 are proposed as novel species.