Lactobacillus psittaci sp. nov., isolated from a hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)

PA Lawson, C Wacher, I Hansson, E Falsen and MD Collins School of Food Biosciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, UK A Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, catalase-negative, facultatively anaerobic coccibacillus to rod-shaped bacterium isolated from a parrot was characterized using phenotypic and molecular taxonomic methods. The unknown bacterium phenotypically resembled lactobacilli and comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that the organism represents a distinct subline within the Lactobacillus delbrueckii rRNA cluster of the genus. 16S rRNA sequence divergence values of >6% with recognized Lactobacillus species clearly demonstrated the phylogenetic separateness of the parrot bacterium. On the basis of phylogenetic evidence and the phenotypic distinctiveness of the unknown bacterium, a new species, Lactobacillus psittaci sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain of Lactobacillus psittaci is CCUG 42378(T) (=CIP 106492(T)).