Corynebacterium godavarianum sp. nov., isolated from the Godavari river, India

Abstract

A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, non-motile bacterium, strain PRD07, was isolated from Godavari river, India during the world's largest spiritual and religious mass bathing event 'Kumbh Mela'. Molecular analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis reveals the distinct phylogenetic positioning of strain PRD07 within the genus Corynebacterium. The strain demonstrated highest sequence similarity to Corynebacterium imitans DSM 44264 (97.9 %), Corynebacterium appendicis DSM 44531 (97.1 %) and <96.7 % with all other members of the genus Corynebacterium. The G+C content of PRD07 was 68.5 mol% (Tm) and the DNA-DNA hybridization depicts 61.09 % genomic relatedness with C. imitans DSM 44264. Chemotaxonomic assessment of strain PRD07 suggested presence of C16 : 0 (31.6 %), C18 : 0 (3.5 %) and C18 : 1ω9c (58.6 %) as the major cellular fatty acids. The major polar lipids of strain PRD07 were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and glycophospholipid. Differentiating molecular, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic characteristics of strain PRD07 with its closest relatives necessitated the description of strain PRD07 as a novel species of genus Corynebacterium for which the name Corynebacteriumgodavarianum sp. nov., has been proposed. The type strain is PRD07 (=MCC 3388=KCTC 39803=LMG 29598).

Mass gatherings medicine: public health issues arising from mass gathering religious and sporting events

“…23 21 Bacterial load in the river increased by approximately 130 fold. 12,[24][25][26][27][28][29] At the 2013 Kumbh Mela, a study 15,16,20 that followed 30 000 pilgrims in four sector hospitals found a 5% incidence of diarrhoeal diseases over a 23day period. A rise in nonbloody diarrhoea cases was seen just 2 days after the main bathing day on Jan 29, 2013, and a peak in upper respiratory tract infections coincided with the peak in nonbloody diarrhoeal disease.…”

“…27 A novel antibioticresistant bacterial species, Corynebacterium godavarianum, has been isolated from the bathing site of the Godavari River. 25 In response to this growing global concern, 28 an expert panel concluded that use of antibiotics should be restricted to acute travellers whose diarrhoea is incapacitating. 30…”

Corynebacterium godavarianum Jani et al. 2018 and Corynebacterium hadale Wei et al. 2018 are both later heterotypic synonyms of Corynebacterium gottingense Atasayar et al. 2017, proposal of an emended description of Corynebacterium gottingense Atasayar et al. 2017

“…In January 2018, Jani et al described Corynebacterium godavarianum sp. nov., an isolate recovered from the fresh-water Godavari River in south-central India during a religious mass bathing event, the 'Kumbh Mela' [2]. This bacterium had ~99.2-99.9 % similarity to the Canadian strains and 99.3 % to C. gottingense by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, as well as >99 % similarity by rpoB sequencing to the Canadian strains.…”

“…Cellular fatty acid (CFA) composition analysis had been done for most Canadian isolates after growth for 48 h at 35 °C in 5 % CO 2 on Columbia Base agar with 5 % sheep blood (SBA), as described previously [13]. CFAs for six Canadian isolates, C. gottingense, C. godavarianum and C. hadale [1][2][3] were consistent with those described for the genus; that is, longchained cellular fatty acids of the straight-chain saturated and monounsaturated types, with significant amounts of hexadecanoic (palmitic, C 16 : 0 ), octadecanoic (C 18 : 0 ), and cis-9-octadecenoic (C 18 : 1 ω9c) acids as major components [14] (also summarized in Table S2).…”

“…Other chemotaxonomic properties were reviewed, noting that specific features were described for some taxa but not for others (Table S2, [1][2][3]). Meso-type diaminopimelic acid (m-DAP) and menaquinones MK-8(H2) and MK-9(H2) had been found in the cell wall of C. gottingense and C. hadale; major whole-cell sugars for those two species included arabinose, galactose and glucose, ribose, with Wei et al also detecting mannose in C. hadale by TLC.…”