Fusimonas intestini gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel intestinal bacterium of the family Lachnospiraceae associated with diabetes in mice

Our previous study shows that an anaerobic intestinal bacterium strain AJ110941(P) contributes to type 2 diabetes development in mice. Here we phylogenetically and physiologically characterized this unique mouse gut bacterium. The 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the strain belongs to the family Lachnospiraceae but shows low sequence similarities ( < 92.5%) to valid species, and rather formed a distinct cluster with uncultured mouse gut bacteria clones. In metagenomic database survey, the 16S sequence of AJ110941(P) also matched with mouse gut-derived datasets (56% of total datasets) with > 99% similarity, suggesting that AJ110941(P)-related bacteria mainly reside in mouse digestive tracts. Strain AJ110941(P) shared common physiological traits (e.g., Gram-positive, anaerobic, mesophilic, and fermentative growth with carbohydrates) with relative species of the Lachnospiraceae. Notably, the biofilm-forming capacity was found in both AJ110941(P) and relative species. However, AJ110941(P) possessed far more strong ability to produce biofilm than relative species and formed unique structure of extracellular polymeric substances. Furthermore, AJ110941(P) cells are markedly long fusiform-shaped rods (9.0–62.5 µm) with multiple flagella that have never been observed in any other Lachnospiraceae members. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic features, we propose a new genus and species, Fusimonas intestini gen. nov., sp. nov. for strain AJ110941(P) (FERM BP-11443).