New bacterial genus discovered living in pig intestines
Microbiology
This particular discovery centers on gut microbiology in livestock rather than plants, so it has little direct bearing on gardening or plant care.
Researchers found two strains of bacteria in pig droppings that didn't match any known bacterial family closely enough to fit in, so they named a whole new genus called Porcibacter. They confirmed this by comparing DNA, fatty acids, and cell wall chemistry against the bacteria's closest known relatives, which turned out to be quite different genetically.
Key Findings
The new bacteria share only 92.2% similarity in a key gene marker with their closest known relative, well below the threshold for being the same species
DNA comparison tests (average nucleotide identity) showed just 67.0% to 68.8% similarity to related Lachnospiraceae family members, confirming a new genus
The strains have a genomic G+C content of 46.8-47.0 mol% and were deposited in three international culture collections for future study
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered a completely new type of bacteria living in pig gut waste, so distinct from known microbes that it required creating a brand-new genus to classify it.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Description of Porcibacter vitabionis gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobe isolated from pig faeces
Two Gram-stain-positive rod-shaped anaerobic bacterial strains were isolated from pig faeces and designated as strains YH-ros2226 T and YH-ros2228. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequenc...
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