Psychrobacter faecalis sp. nov., a new species from a bioaerosol originating from pigeon faeces

The taxonomy of strain Iso-46T isolated from a bioaerosol generated by cleaning of a pigeon faeces contaminated room was investigated in a polyphasic approach. The beige pigmented Gram-negative, oxidase-negative organism contained a quinone system with mainly ubiquinone Q-8, and the polar lipid profile was composed of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol, beside some hitherto uncharacterized phospholipids. Major polyamines were spermidine and putrescine and also small amounts of cadaverine. The analysis of the fatty acids revealed 3-OH 12:0 and 3-OH 14:0 (within summed feature 3) as hydroxylated fatty acids. These chemotaxonomic characteristics suggest that the strain belongs to the gamma-subclass of the Proteobacteria namely into the genus Psychrobacter. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene supported the allocation into the genus Psychrobacter, but showing similarities to all described species of this genus lower than 97%. Iso-46T was able to grow on MacConkey agar and other high nutrient containing media within a temperature range of 4 degrees C to 36 degrees C. On the basis of nutritional and further physiological features, a clear differentiation from all other Psychrobacter species was possible. For these reasons it is proposed to create a new species with the name Psychrobacter faecalis sp. nov.