sp. nov. and sp. nov., two new species of the pathogenic group isolated from environmental sources.

Four spirochetes (F1, B21, Yale and AMB6-RJ) were isolated from environmental sources: F1 and B21 from soils of an urban slum community in Salvador (Brazil), Yale from river water in New Haven, Connecticut (USA) and AMB6-RJ from a pond in a horse farm in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Isolates were helix-shaped, aerobic, highly motile and non-virulent in a hamster model of infection. Draft genomes of the strains were obtained and analysed to determine the relatedness to other species of the genus . The analysis of 498 core genes showed that strains F1/B21 and Yale/AMB6-RJ formed two distinct phylogenetic clades within the 'Pathogens' group (group I). The average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of strains F1/B21 and Yale/AMB6-RJ to other previously described species were below <84 % and <82 %, respectively, which confirmed that these isolates should be classified as representatives of two novel species. Therefore, we propose sp. nov. and sp. nov. as new species in the genus . The type strains are F1 (=ATCC-TSD-163=KIT0259=CLEP00287) and Yale (=ATCC-TDS-162=KIT0258=CLEP00288), respectively.