Ewingella docleensis sp. nov. isolated from artisanal Montenegrin komanski cheese

Abstract

Microorganisms play a dual role in the production of artisanal foods. On one hand, they contribute to the development of unique flavours, tastes and textures; on the other hand, certain microbes can pose risks, including spoilage or growth of foodborne pathogens. In this study, aimed at identifying and characterizing microorganisms present in artisanal Montenegrin cheese, we isolated a novel, Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, motile and short-rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated CoE-038–23ᵀ, from young komanski cheese. MALDI-TOF-MS initially identified the strain as Ewingella americana with a log score of 1.90. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence confirmed the strain's assignment to the genus Ewingella. Whole genome comparisons with all available E. americana genomes from GenBank, using average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH), revealed that strain CoE-038–23ᵀ did not meet the species delineation thresholds of 95.0 % for ANI and 70 % for dDDH. Strain CoE-038–23ᵀ showed 92.96 % ANIb and 51.9 % dDDH identity with the type strain E. americana DSM 4580ᵀ, and 80.50 % ANIb and 24 % dDDH with E. americana E4. Our findings also indicate that strain E. americana E4 should be reclassified as a new species, since it differs from the type strain DSM 4580ᵀ by 80,53 % ANIb and 23,6 % dDDH.