Bacteroides rhinocerotis sp. nov., isolated from the fresh feces of rhinoceros in Beijing Zoo.

A Gram-negative strain, anaerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterial strain named as NGMCC 1.200684 was isolated from the fresh feces of rhinoceros in Beijing Zoo. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain NGMCC 1.200684 belonged to the genus Bacteroides and was most strongly related to the type strain of Bacteroides uniformis ATCC 8492 (96.88%). The G + C content of the genomic DNA was determined to be 46.62%. Between strains NGMCC 1.200684 and B. uniformis ATCC 8492, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) were 93.89 and 67.60%, respectively. Strain NGMCC 1.200684 can produce acid from fermentation of several substrates, including glucose, mannitol, lactose, saccharose, maltose, salicin, xylose, cellobiose, mannose, raffinose, sorbitol, trehalose, D-galactose, and maltotriose. The major cellular fatty acids (> 10%) were identified as anteiso-C, iso-C, iso-C, and iso-C 3-OH. The polar lipid profiles of strain NGMCC 1.200684 were determined to contain diphosphatidyl glycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, three unknown phospholipids, and two unknown amino-phospholipids. Based on phenotypic, phylogenetic, and chemotaxonomic characteristics, a novel species of the genus Bacteroides, Bacteroides rhinocerotis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NGMCC 1.200684 (= CGMCC 1.18013 = JCM 35702).