Update of the list of qualified presumption of safety (QPS) recommended microbiological agents intentionally added to food or feed as notified to EFSA 19: Suitability of taxonomic units notified to EFSA until September 2023

The qualified presumption of safety (QPS) process was developed to provide a safety assessment approach for microorganisms intended for use in food or feed chains. The QPS approach is based on an assessment of published data for each taxonomic unit (TU), with respect to its taxonomic identity, the body of relevant knowledge and safety concerns. Safety concerns identified for a TU are, where possible, confirmed at the species/strain or product level and reflected by 'qualifications'. In the period covered by this Statement, no new information was found that would change the status of previously recommended QPS TUs. Of 71 microorganisms notified to EFSA between April and September 2023 (30 as feed additives, 22 as food enzymes or additives, 7 as novel foods and 12 from plant protection products [PPP]), 61 were not evaluated because: 26 were filamentous fungi, 1 was Enterococcus faecium, 5 were Escherichia coli, 1 was a bacteriophage (all excluded from the QPS evaluation) and 28 were TUs that already have a QPS status. The other 10 notifications belonged to 9 TUs which were evaluated for a possible QPS status: Ensifer adhaerens and Heyndrickxia faecalis did not get the QPS recommendation due to the limited body of knowledge about their occurrence in the food and/or feed chains and Burkholderia ubonensis also due to its ability to generate biologically active compounds with antimicrobial activity; Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas putida due to safety concerns. K. pneumoniae is excluded from future QPS evaluations. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is recommended for QPS status with the qualification 'for production purposes only'; Clostridium tyrobutyricum is recommended for QPS status with the qualification 'absence of genetic determinants for toxigenic activity'; Candida oleophila has been added as a synonym of Yarrowia lipolytica. The Panel clarifies the extension of the QPS status for genetically modified strains.

Portibacter marinus sp. nov., isolated from the sediment on the surface of plastics and proposal of a novel genus Neolewinella gen. nov. based on the genome-based phylogeny of the family Lewinellaceae

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped and orange-pigmented bacterial strain designated 10MBP4-2-1T was isolated from the sediment on the surface of a plastic straw collected from oyster-farming areas in Quanzhou Bay, PR China. Catalase activity and oxidase activity were positive. Flexirubin-type pigment was absent. The 16S rRNA gene of strain 10MBP4-2-1T showed highest sequence similarity to Portibacter lacus YM8-076T of 98.3 %. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and 120 conserved concatenated proteins indicated that strain 10MBP4-2-1T was affiliated to the genus Portibacter and formed a monophyletic clade with P. lacus YM8-076T. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization, average nucleotide identity and average amino acid identity values between strain 10MBP4-2-1T and P. lacus YM8-076T were estimated to be 17.7, 70.4 and 70.3 %, respectively. The respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7. The major fatty acid composition was iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1  ω7c and/or C16 : 1  ω6c). The draft genome size was 5 191 941 bp with DNA G+C content of 39.2 %. Based on phylogenetic analyses and whole genomic comparisons, strain 10MBP4-2-1T represents a novel species, for which the name Portibacter marinus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 10MBP4-2-1T (=MCCC 1K07073T=KCTC 92101T). Additionally, phylogeny and whole genomic comparison of the family Lewinellaceae placed Lewinella cohaerens and the remaining Lewinella (currently comprising 11 species) in two clearly distinguishable clades recognized at the genus level. Thus, a novel genus named Neolewinella gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate the 11 species. Our study provides a taxonomic framework for the family Lewinellaceae based on genomic data.

Genomic analysis provides novel insights into diversification and taxonomy of Allorhizobium vitis (i.e. Agrobacterium vitis)

BACKGROUND

Allorhizobium vitis (formerly named Agrobacterium vitis or Agrobacterium biovar 3) is the primary causative agent of crown gall disease of grapevine worldwide. We obtained and analyzed whole-genome sequences of diverse All. vitis strains to get insights into their diversification and taxonomy.

RESULTS

Pairwise genome comparisons and phylogenomic analysis of various All. vitis strains clearly indicated that All. vitis is not a single species, but represents a species complex composed of several genomic species. Thus, we emended the description of All. vitis, which now refers to a restricted group of strains within the All. vitis species complex (i.e. All. vitis sensu stricto) and proposed a description of a novel species, All. ampelinum sp. nov. The type strain of All. vitis sensu stricto remains the current type strain of All. vitis, K309T. The type strain of All. ampelinum sp. nov. is S4T. We also identified sets of gene clusters specific to the All. vitis species complex, All. vitis sensu stricto and All. ampelinum, respectively, for which we predicted the biological function and infer the role in ecological diversification of these clades, including some we could experimentally validate. All. vitis species complex-specific genes confer tolerance to different stresses, including exposure to aromatic compounds. Similarly, All. vitis sensu stricto-specific genes confer the ability to degrade 4-hydroxyphenylacetate and a putative compound related to gentisic acid. All. ampelinum-specific genes have putative functions related to polyamine metabolism and nickel assimilation. Congruently with the genome-based classification, All. vitis sensu stricto and All. ampelinum were clearly delineated by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. Moreover, our genome-based analysis indicated that Allorhizobium is clearly separated from other genera of the family Rhizobiaceae.

CONCLUSIONS

Comparative genomics and phylogenomic analysis provided novel insights into the diversification and taxonomy of Allorhizobium vitis species complex, supporting our redefinition of All. vitis sensu stricto and description of All. ampelinum. Our pan-genome analyses suggest that these species have differentiated ecologies, each relying on specialized nutrient consumption or toxic compound degradation to adapt to their respective niche.

Aquirufa lenticrescens sp. nov. and Aquirufa aurantiipilula sp. nov.: two new species of a lineage of widespread freshwater bacteria

Two bacterial strains, 9H-EGSE^T and 15D-MOB^T, were isolated from small freshwater habitats located near Salzburg, Austria. They showed the highest 16S rRNA sequence similarities of 100% and 99.9%, respectively, with type strains of species of the genus Aquirufa (Bacteroidota). Genome-based phylogenetic reconstructions with 119 amino acid sequences assigned the new taxa to the two distinct branches of the genus Aquirufa. Whole-genome average nucleotide identities were calculated with all possible pairs belonging to the genus. Values between 75.4% and 88.6% revealed that the two new strains represent each a new species. Like all, so far described members of the genus, they grew aerobically and chemoorganotrophically, were rod-shaped, red-pigmented, and motile by gliding, and showed genome sizes of about 3 Mbp and G + C values of about 40%. They could be distinguished by some phenotypic and chemotaxonomic features from their nearest related species. Until now, strain 9H-EGSE^T is the only one among the Aquirufa strains which contained traces of MK8 as respiratory quinone, and strain 15D-MOB^T is the only one that formed tiny orange globules in liquid medium. The genome of strain 9H-EGSE^T comprised genes for the complete light-harvesting rhodopsin / retinal system, in the case of 15D-MOB^T genes predicted for a nitrous oxide reductase were present. For the two new species of the genus Aquirufa, we propose to establish the names Aquirufa lenticrescens for strain 9H-EGSE^T (= JCM 34077 ^T = CIP 111926 ^T) and Aquirufa aurantiipilula for strain 15D-MOB^T (= JCM 34078 ^T = CIP 111925 ^T).

Elioraea tepida, sp. nov., a Moderately Thermophilic Aerobic Anoxygenic Phototrophic Bacterium Isolated from the Mat Community of an Alkaline Siliceous Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA

Strain MS-P2T was isolated from microbial mats associated with Mushroom Spring, an alkaline siliceous hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA. The isolate grows chemoheterotrophically by oxygen-dependent respiration, and light stimulates photoheterotrophic growth under strictly oxic conditions. Strain MS-P2T synthesizes bacteriochlorophyll a and the carotenoid spirilloxanthin. However, photoautotrophic growth did not occur under oxic or anoxic conditions, suggesting that this strain should be classified as an aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium. Strain MS-P2T cells are motile, curved rods about 0.5 to 1.0 μm wide and 1.0 to 1.5 μm long. The optimum growth temperature is 45-50 °C, and the optimum pH for growth is circum-neutral (pH 7.0-7.5). Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that strain MS-P2T is closely related to Elioraea species, members of the class Alphaproteobacteria, with a sequence identity of 96.58 to 98%. The genome of strain MS-P2T is a single circular DNA molecule of 3,367,643 bp with a mol% guanine-plus-cytosine content of 70.6%. Based on phylogenetic, physiological, biochemical, and genomic characteristics, we propose this bacteriochlorophyll a-containing isolate is a new species belonging to the genus Elioraea, with the suggested name Elioraeatepida. The type-strain is strain MS-P2T (= JCM33060T = ATCC TSD-174T).

Genome Sequence of the Thermophilic Soil Bacterium Ureibacillus terrenus ATCC BAA-384T

Ureibacillus terrenus TH9A^T (=ATCC BAA-384^T) was isolated from uncultivated soil in Italy in 1995. We present a draft genome sequence for the type strain, with a predicted genome length of 2,936,851 bp, containing 2,766 protein-coding genes, 82 RNA genes, and 5 CRISPR arrays, with a G+C content of 42.5%.

The first case of Planococcus glaciei found in blood, a report from the Czech Republic

The isolation of Planococcus glaciei (designed strain CNCTC 7660) from blood of a patient with appendicitis is reported. Species P. glaciei (type strain CGMCC 1.6846 ^T) was for the first time identified as an environmental bacterium acquired from a glacier in China in 2009. To reveal the identity of the isolate CNCTC 7660, the 16S rDNA sequencing and the whole genome sequencing (Illumina MiSeq, Oxford Nanopore) were performed. The level of 16S rDNA gene sequencing similarity between CNCTC 7660 and CGMCC 1.6846 ^T was 99.55%. Phylogenetic analysis and average nucleotide analysis (ANI) based on the whole genome sequencing confirmed that the isolate CNCTC 7660 and CGMCC1.6846 ^T had ANI value above the taxonomic threshold for belonging to the same species (95%). The G + C content of CNCTC 7660 DNA was 46.8% (mol/mol). Except for the growth temperature, strains CGMCC1.6846 ^T and CNCTC 7660 were distinguished also biochemically. Due to the lack of information about the pathogenicity of P. glaciei, the possibility that it exerts pathogenicity in persons is suggested. But for understanding the nature of this species, further cases are needed.

Novosphingobium decolorationis sp. nov., an aniline blue-decolourizing bacterium isolated from East Pacific sediment

Aniline blue-decolourizing bacterial strain 502str22^T, isolated from sediment collected in the East Pacific, was subjected to characterization by a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain 502str22^T belongs to the genus Novosphingobium, with closely related type strains 'Novosphingobium profundi' F72^T (97.6%), N. mathurense SM117^T (97.1%) and N. arvoryzae Jyi-02^T (97.0%). Digital DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values between strain 502str22^T and closely related type strains were 20.3-24.8% and 74.1-81.9%, respectively. The major cellular fatty acid (>10%) was C_18:1 ω7c. The polar lipid profile consisted of a mixture of phosphatidylcholine, one sphingoglycolipid, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine. The DNA G+C content of strain 502str22^T was 65.5 mol%. The polyphasic taxonomic results indicated that strain 502str22^T represents a novel species of the genus Novosphingobium, for which the name Novosphingobium decolorationis sp. nov is proposed. The type strain is 502str22^T (=KCTC 82134^T= MCCC 1K04799 ^T).

Donghicola mangrovi sp. nov., a member of the family Rhodobacteraceae isolated from mangrove forest in Thailand

Two novel Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile bacterial strains, designated B5-SW-15^T and C2-DW-16, were isolated from water collected in mangrove forests in Ranong Province, Thailand. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains B5-SW-15^T and C2-DW-16 belonged to the genus Donghicola and were most closely related to Donghicola tyrosinivorans DSM 100212^T (98.2 and 98.1 %, respectively) and Donghicola eburneus DSM 29127^T (97.7 and 97.6 %, respectively). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain B5-SW-15^T, strain C2-DW-16 and related species were 95.8 and 71.6 % (to strain C2-DW-16), 76.8 and 21.3 % (to D. tyrosinivorans DSM 100212^T) and 80.3 and 24.2 % (to D. eburneus DSM 29127^T), respectively. The predominant cellular fatty acids (>5 %) were summed feature 8 (C_18 : 1  ω6c and/or C_18 : 1  ω7c), C_16 : 0 and C_12 : 1 3-OH. Ubiquinone Q-10 was the sole respiratory quinone. DNA G+C contents of the isolates were 61.0 and 61.2 mol% based on whole genome sequences. Strains B5-SW-15^T and C2-DW-16 contained aminolipid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol as the major polar lipids. On the basis of the results from phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, strains B5-SW-15^T and C2-DW-16 constitute a novel species of the genus Donghicola in the family Rhodobacteraceae for which the name Donghicola mangrovi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is B5-SW-15^T (=BCC 56522^T=TBRC 9562^T=KCTC 72743^T).