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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2005, p. 3297-3303, Vol. 43, No. 7
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.7.3297-3303.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. oharae subsp. nov., E. hormaechei subsp. hormaechei comb. nov., and E. hormaechei subsp. steigerwaltii subsp. nov., Three New Subspecies of Clinical Importance

Harald Hoffmann,^1*, Sibylle Stindl,^2, Wolfgang Ludwig,² Anita Stumpf,¹ Andre Mehlen,² Daniel Monget,³ Denis Pierard,⁴ Stefan Ziesing,⁵ Jürgen Heesemann,⁶ Andreas Roggenkamp,⁶ and Karl H. Schleifer²

Institute of Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine at the Pneumological Teaching Hospital of the University of Munich, Robert-Koch-Allee 2, D-82131 Gauting, Germany,¹ Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Technische Universität München, D-85353 Freising, Germany,² BioMérieux, R&D Microbiology, Marcy l'Etoile, France,³ Academisch Ziekenhuis Vrije Universiteit van Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium,⁴ Institute of Microbiology, Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany,⁵ Max von Pettenkofer Institute for Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Klinikum Grosshadern, Marchioninistrasse 17, D-81377 Munich, Germany⁶

Received 3 August 2004/ Returned for modification 30 September 2004/ Accepted 2 March 2005

Six species and six additional genovars are combined within the so-called Enterobacter cloacae complex, with one of them being the species Enterobacter hormaechei. In a recent population genetic study, two genetic clusters were found in close phylogenetic proximity to the genetic cluster of E. hormaechei. In order to prove the hypothesis that these three genetic clusters belong to the same species, we performed cross-hybridization experiments in microplates with DNAs of representatives of each genetic cluster. The close phylogenetic relationship among the clusters was reflected by their relatively low T_m values, ranging from 0.3 to 4.8, confirming the hypothesis that the clusters are parts of the same species. These clusters can be distinguished from the other species of the E. cloacae complex, which have T_m values of 5.6 to 10.3. Forty-eight E. hormaechei strains from the different genetic clusters were phenotypically characterized with 129 biochemical tests. In this way, E. hormaechei could be differentiated from the other species of the E. cloacae complex because it tests negative in the 3-hydroxy-butyrate test. The three genetic clusters of E. hormaechei could also be differentiated from each other by using phenotypic tests. Hence, we propose three new subspecies of E. hormaechei corresponding to genetic clusters VI, VII, and VIII of the E. cloacae complex. E. hormaechei subsp. hormaechei comb. nov. corresponds to the original species description, as it gives negative results for the adonitol, D-arabitol, D-sorbitol, and D-melibiose tests and a positive result for the dulcitol test. E. hormaechei subsp. oharae subsp. nov. gives negative results for the dulcitol, adonitol, and D-arabitol tests and positive results for the D-sorbitol and D-melibiose tests. E. hormaechei subsp. steigerwaltii subsp. nov. gives a negative result for the dulcitol test and positive results for the adonitol, D-arabitol, D-sorbitol, and D-melibiose tests. Among the members of the E. cloacae complex, E. hormaechei seems to be the species most frequently recovered from clinical specimens.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine at the Pneumological Teaching Hospital of the University of Munich, Robert-Koch-Allee 2, D-82131 Gauting, Germany. Phone: 49-89-2180-78296. Fax: 49-89-2180-78207. E-mail: Harald.Hoffmann{at}asklepios.com.

H.H. and S.S. contributed equally to this study.

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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2005, p. 3297-3303, Vol. 43, No. 7
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.7.3297-3303.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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