Tannerella serpentiformis sp. nov., isolated from the human mouth

Three strains representing the previously uncultured human oral Tannerella taxon HMT-286 were recently isolated from the subgingival plaque of a patient with chronic periodontitis. The phenotypic and genetic features of strain SP18_26T were compared to those of the type species of Tannerella , Tannerella forsythia . A genome size of 2.97 Mbp (G+C content 56.5 mol%) was previously reported for SP18_26T, compared to a size of 3.28 Mbp (47.1 mol%) in T. forsythia ATCC 43037T. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons also revealed 94.3 % sequence identity with T. forsythia ATCC 43037T. Growth was stimulated by supplementation of media with N-acetyl muramic acid, as seen with T. forsythia , but the cells displayed a distinctive snake-like morphology. Fatty acid methyl ester analysis revealed a profile differing from T. forsythia , chiefly in the amount of 3-OH-16 : 0 (four-fold lower in SP18_26T). Overall, metabolic enzyme activity also differed from T. forsythia , with enzyme activity for indole present, but the complement of glycoside hydrolase enzyme activity was smaller than T. forsythia , for example, lacking sialidase and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase – evidence backed up by analysis of its gene content. On the basis of these results, a new species Tannerella serpentiformis is proposed for which the type strain is SP18_26T (=DSM 102894T=JCM 31303T).