Levilactobacillus humaensis sp. nov. and Lapidilactobacillus luobeiensis sp. nov., isolated from traditional Chinese pickle

Two Gram-stain-positive bacterial strains, designated 213-9(3)^T and 30-1(2)^T, were isolated from traditional Chinese pickle, and were characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain 213-9(3)^T was most closely related to Levilactobacillus paucivorans TMW 1.1424^T, Levilactobacillus huananensis 151-2B^T and Levilactobacillus lindianensis 220-4^T, having 99.7-99.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities; strain 30-1(2)^T was most closely related to Lapidilactobacillus achengensis 247-4^T, with 99.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Strain 213-9(3)^T shared the highest pheS (93.9 %), rpoA (99.3 %) and concatenated pheS and rpoA (97.5 %) sequence similarities to L. paucivorans TMW 1.1424^T. Strain 30-1(2)^T had the highest pheS (82.4 %), rpoA (95.5 %) and concatenated pheS and rpoA (91.2 %) sequence similarities to L. achengensis 247-4^T. The phylogenetic relationships based on concatenated pheS and rpoA sequences and whole genome sequences were identical to those based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Strain 213-9(3)^T exhibited the highest average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values (92.7 and 48.8 %, respectively) to L. paucivorans DSM 22467^T. Strain 30-1(2)^T had the highest ANI (84.4 %) and dDDH (32.8 %) values with L. achengensis 247-4^T. Acid production from d-galactose, d-glucose, d-mannose, N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase, arbutin, salicin, cellobiose, maltose, gentiobiose, d-tagatose and gluconate, hydrolysis of aesculin, and activity of cystine arylamidase could differentiate strain 213-9(3)^T from L. paucivorans DSM 22467^T. Acid production from l-arabinose, d-ribose, d-xylose and d-galactose, and activity of alkaline phosphatase, esterase (C4), α-mannosidase and α-fucosidase could differentiate strain 30-1(2)^T from L. achengensis 247-4^T. Based upon the data obtained in the present study, two novel species, Levilactobacillus humaensis sp. nov. and Lapidilactobacillus luobeiensis sp. nov., are proposed and the type strains are 213-9(3)^T (=CCM 9241^T=CCTCC AB 2022115^T=JCM 35554^T) and 30-1(2)^T (=CCM 9240^T=CCTCC AB 2022114^T=JCM 35553^T), respectively.

Archeochemistry reveals the first steps into modern industrial brewing

A historical beer, dated to the German Empire era, was recently found in northern Germany. Its chemical composition represents a unique source of insights into brewing culture of the late nineteenth century when pioneer innovations laid the foundations for industrial brewing. Complementary analytics including metabolomics, microbiological, sensory, and beer attribute analysis revealed its molecular profile and certify the unprecedented good storage condition even after 130 years in the bottle. Comparing its chemical signature to that of four hundred modern brews allowed to describe molecular fingerprints teaching us about technological aspects of historical beer brewing. Several critical production steps such as malting and germ treatment, wort preparation and fermentation, filtration and storage, and compliance with the Bavarian Purity Law left detectable molecular imprints. In addition, the aging process of the drinkable brew could be analyzed on a chemical level and resulted in an unseen diversity of hops- and Maillard-derived compounds. Using this archeochemical forensic approach, the historical production process of a culturally significant beverage could be traced and the ravages of time made visible.

Lactobacillus suantsaicola sp. nov. and Lactobacillus suantsaiihabitans sp. nov., isolated from suan-tsai, a traditional fermented mustard green product of Taiwan

Four Gram-stain-positive strains, R7T, R11, R19T and R27, were isolated from suan-tsai, a traditional fermented mustard green product of Taiwan. Cells were rod-shaped, non-motile, non-haemolytic, asporogenous, facultatively anaerobic, heterofermentative, and did not exhibit catalase and oxidase activities. Comparative analyses of 16S rRNA, pheS and rpoA gene sequences demonstrated that these novel strains were members of the genus Lactobacillus . 16S rRNA and the concatenated pheS and rpoA gene sequence similarities between strains R7T and R11, and strains R19T and R27 were very high (>99.8 % similarity), respectively. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, the type strains of Lactobacillus paralimentarius (98.5 %), Lactobacillus kimchii (98.5 %), Lactobacillus alimentarius (98.1 %) and Lactobacillus bobalius (98.1 %) were the closest neighbours to strains R7T and R11, and the type strains of Lactobacillus brevis (98.9 %), Lactobacillus cerevisiae (98.4 %), Lactobacillus hammesii (98.4 %), Lactobacillus koreensis (98.4 %) and Lactobacillus yonginensis (98.0 %) were the closest neighbours to strains R19T and R27, respectively. The average nucleotide identity values of R7T and R19T with the closely related type strains were 78.9–80.1% and 75.7–80.5 %, respectively. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization values were 22.8–23.6% and 21.0–23.1 %, respectively. Phenotypic and genotypic test results demonstrated that these strains represent two novel species of the genus Lactobacillus , for which the name Lactobacillus suantsaicola sp. nov. (R7T=BCRC 81127T=NBRC 113530T) and Lactobacillus suantsaiihabitans sp. nov. (R19T=BCRC 81129T=NBRC 113532T) are proposed.

A taxonomic note on the genus Lactobacillus: Description of 23 novel genera, emended description of the genus Lactobacillus Beijerinck 1901, and union of Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae

The genus Lactobacillus comprises 261 species (at March 2020) that are extremely diverse at phenotypic, ecological and genotypic levels. This study evaluated the taxonomy of Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae on the basis of whole genome sequences. Parameters that were evaluated included core genome phylogeny, (conserved) pairwise average amino acid identity, clade-specific signature genes, physiological criteria and the ecology of the organisms. Based on this polyphasic approach, we propose reclassification of the genus Lactobacillus into 25 genera including the emended genus Lactobacillus, which includes host-adapted organisms that have been referred to as the Lactobacillus delbrueckii group, Paralactobacillus and 23 novel genera for which the names Holzapfelia, Amylolactobacillus, Bombilactobacillus, Companilactobacillus, Lapidilactobacillus, Agrilactobacillus, Schleiferilactobacillus, Loigolactobacilus, Lacticaseibacillus, Latilactobacillus, Dellaglioa, Liquorilactobacillus, Ligilactobacillus, Lactiplantibacillus, Furfurilactobacillus, Paucilactobacillus, Limosilactobacillus, Fructilactobacillus, Acetilactobacillus, Apilactobacillus, Levilactobacillus, Secundilactobacillus and Lentilactobacillus are proposed. We also propose to emend the description of the family Lactobacillaceae to include all genera that were previously included in families Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae. The generic term 'lactobacilli' will remain useful to designate all organisms that were classified as Lactobacillaceae until 2020. This reclassification reflects the phylogenetic position of the micro-organisms, and groups lactobacilli into robust clades with shared ecological and metabolic properties, as exemplified for the emended genus Lactobacillus encompassing species adapted to vertebrates (such as Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus iners, Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus jensensii, Lactobacillus johnsonii and Lactobacillus acidophilus) or invertebrates (such as Lactobacillus apis and Lactobacillus bombicola).

Lactobacillus hegangensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus suibinensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus daqingensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus yichunensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus mulanensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus achengensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus wuchangensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus gannanensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus binensis sp. nov. and Lactobacillus angrenensis sp. nov., isolated from Chinese traditional pickle and yogurt

Fourteen Gram-stain-positive bacterial strains were isolated from Chinese traditional pickle and yogurt. The strains were characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach, including 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, pheS gene sequence analysis, rpoA gene sequence analysis, fatty acid methyl ester analysis, determination of DNA G+C content, determination of average nucleotide identity (ANI), in silico DNA–DNA hybridization (isDDH) and an analysis of phenotypic features. The data demonstrated that the 14 strains represented ten novel species belonging to the genus Lactobacillus , strains 73-4T, 247-3T, 143-4(a)T, 33-1T, 143-6T, 247-4T, 17-4T, 143-1T, 735-2T and M1530-1T were designated as the type strains. Strains 73-4T and 247-3T were phylogenetically related to the type strains of Lactobacillus camelliae and Lactobacillus jixianensis , having 97.0–98.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, 83.9–87.2 % pheS gene sequence similarities and 86.8–93.3 % rpoA gene sequence similarities. Strains 143-4(a)T and 33-1T were phylogenetically related to the type strains of Lactobacillus rhamnosus , Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus casei , having 93.6–96.5 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, 73.9–77.2 % pheS gene sequence similarities and 76.1–77.6 % rpoA gene sequence similarities. Strains 143-6T, 247-4T, 17-4T and 143-1T were phylogenetically related to the type strains of Lactobacillus concavus , Lactobacillus dextrinicus and Lactobacillus bayanensis , exhibiting 95.5–99.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, 76.5–83.1 % pheS gene sequence similarities and 83.6–98.3 % rpoA gene sequence similarities. Strain 735-2T was phylogenetically related to the type strains of Lactobacillus zhaoyuanensis , Lactobacillus jiayinensis and Lactobacillus coryniformis , having 98.2–99.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, 82.8–84.1 % pheS gene sequence similarities and 93.0–93.9 % rpoA gene sequence similarities. Strain M1530-1T was phylogenetically related to the type strains of Lactobacillus suantsaiihabitans and Lactobacillus brevis , having 99.5 and 99.0 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, 90.3 and 81.7 % pheS gene sequence similarities and 97.7 and 91.1 % rpoA gene sequence similarities. The ANI and isDDH values between strains 73-4T, 247-3T, 143-4(a)T, 33-1T, 143-6T, 247-4T, 17-4T, 143-1T, 735-2T, M1530-1T and type strains of phylogenetically related species were less than 86.8 % and 33.9 % respectively, confirming that they represent ten novel species within the genus Lactobacillus . Based upon the data of polyphasic characterization obtained in the present study, ten novel species, Lactobacillus hegangensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus suibinensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus daqingensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus yichunensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus mulanensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus achengensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus wuchangensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus gannanensis sp. nov., Lactobacillus binensis sp. nov. and Lactobacillus angrenensis sp. nov., are proposed and the type strains are 73-4T (=NCIMB 15177T=CCM 8912T=CCTCC AB 2018407T), 247-3T (=NCIMB 15176T=JCM 33275T), 143-4(a)T (=NCIMB 15173T=CCM 8948T=JCM 33273T=CCTCC AB 2018390T), 33-1T (=NCIMB 15169T=CCM 8947T=JCM 33272T=CCTCC AB 2018405T), 143-6T (=NCIMB 15162T=CCM 8951T=JCM 33274T=CCTCC AB 2018411T), 247-4T (=NCIMB 15155T=CCM 8897T=LMG 31059T=CCTCC AB 2018410T), 17-4T (=NCIMB 15161T=CCM 8946T=JCM 33271T=CCTCC AB 2018406T), 143-1T (=NCIMB 15157T=CCM 8937T=CCTCC AB 2018409T), 735-2T (=NCIMB 15190T=CCM 8925T=LMG 31186T) and M1530-1T (=NCIMB 15150T=CCM 8893T=LMG 31046T=CCTCC AB 2018402T), respectively.