Lactobacillus garii sp. nov., isolated from a fermented cassava product

A novel Gram-positive, catalase negative, rod-shaped strain, FI11369(T), was isolated from gari, a traditional West African fermented food derived from cassava. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the closest type strains were Lactobacillus xiangfangensis LMG 26013(T) (99.4 % similarity), Lactobacillus plajomi NBRC 107333(T) (99.1 %), Lactobacillus paraplantarum DSM 10667(T) (99.1 %), Lactobacillus pentosus DSM 20314(T) (99.0 %), Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum ATCC 14917(T) (99.0 %), Lactobacillus modestisalitolerans NBRC 107235(T) (98.9 %), Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. argentoratensis DSM 16365(T) (98.9 %) and Lactobacillus daowaiensis NCIMB 15183(T) (98.8 %). The genome of strain FI11369(T) was sequenced and the average nucleotide identity (ANI) was compared with its closest relatives. ANI analysis showed that the closest relative, L. xiangfangensis DSM 27103(T), had only a 82.4 % similarity. The main fatty acids of FI11369(T) were saturated C(16 : 0) (18.2 %), unsaturated C(18 : 1) ω9c (43.8 %) and cyclopropane C(19 : 0) cyclo (ω10c and/or ω6; 22.5 %). Based on the genotypic and phenotypic data obtained in this study, a novel Lactobacillus species, Lactobacillus garii sp. nov., with the type strain FI11369(T) (=NCIMB 15148=DSM 108249), is proposed.