Candidatus Peptacetobacter felis sp. nov., a novel bile acid-converting bacterial species isolated from the feces of healthy cats in the United States

Abstract

Six strains of a novel anaerobic bacterial taxa exhibiting bile acid-transforming activity were isolated from fecal samples of clinically healthy cats living in Oakland, California. 16S rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicate that strain AB800T belongs to the genus Peptacetobacter, with Peptacetobacter hiranonis strain JCM 10541 (98% coverage, 99.7% identity) as its closest relative. Whole genome sequencing shows an average nucleotide identity (ANI) of less than 96% (95.73% ANI, 90.53% AF) with the closest validly named species being Peptacetobacter hiranonis DGF055142. The size is about 2.58 Mb, containing 2,355 predicted coding sequences and 2,450 annotated genes. Phenotypic characterisation, and comprehensive genomic analysis, including ANI, digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and core genome phylogenetic analysis, placing the strain AB800T on a separate branch, supported the classification of a novel species, strain AB800T (DSM 120482 = LMG 34035) with the proposed name Candidatus Peptacetobacter felis sp. nov., derived from "felis" the latin name of cat felis catus. These findings expand our understanding of host-associated bile acid converters and provide promising candidates for probiotic development.