PHYLOGENETIC PLACEMENT OF DIALISTER PNEUMOSINTES (FORMERLY BACTEROIDES PNEUMOSINTES) WITHIN THE SPOROMUSA SUBBRANCH OF THE CLOSTRIDIUM SUBPHYLUM OF THE GRAM-POSITIVE BACTERIA

The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of the type strain of Dialister pneumosintes was determined. phylogenetic analysis revealed that this species belongs to the Sporomusa branch of the Clostridium subphylum of the gram-positive bacteria and should therefore be excluded from the family Bacteroidaceae. Within this branch, which encompasses several other gram-negative taxa, such as Acidaminococcus, Pectinatus; Phascolar-cobacterium, Quinella, Selenomonas, and Zymophilus, Dialister showed a specific, albeit distant, affinity with the genera Megasphaera and Veillonella.