Streptococcus pluranimalium sp nov., from cattle and other animals

Strains from subclinical mastitis, from the genital tract and tonsils of ca ttle, from tonsils of a goat and a cat and from the crop and the respirator y tract of canaries were found to constitute a new streptococcal species, f or which the name Streptococcus pluranimalium sp. nov. is proposed. Sequenc ing of 16S rRNA showed that Streptococcus thoraltensis and Streptococcus hy ovaginalis were its closest known phylogenetic relatives. The new species s howed some phenotypic resemblance to the poorly described species Streptoco ccus acidominimus, but whole-cell protein analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that the new species was only distantly related to the type strain of S. acidominimus. Identification of these bacteria, which showed heterog eneous biochemical reaction patterns, was most reliably made by whole-cell protein analysis. Nevertheless, a number of biochemical reactions can be us ed to differentiate S. pluranimalium from other animal streptococci. Strain LMG 14177(T), isolated from mastitic milk of a dairy cow, was designated a s the type strain of S. pluranimalium sp. nov.