Corynebacterium antarcticum sp. nov., Corynebacterium marambiense sp. nov., Corynebacterium meridianum sp. nov., and Corynebacterium pygosceleis sp. nov., isolated from Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae)

Bacteria of the genus Corynebacterium represent an ecologically diverse group of organisms that inhabit a variety of environments. They are Gram-stain-negative, non-motile irregular rods that typically have a V-shaped or palisade arrangement of cells (Liebl et al., 2006, von Graevenitz et al., 2006). They are catalase-positive and usually oxidase-negative with facultative anaerobic or aerobic metabolism. The cell wall consists of peptidoglycan based on meso-diaminopimelic acid and arabinose and galactose as main sugars and may contain short-chain mycolic acids with 22–36 carbon atoms (Bernard and Funke, 2015). Corynebacteria can be isolated from soils, plant material, animals and food. Some corynebacteria colonise animals and humans as commensals of the skin and mucous membranes, but many are considered medically important because of their pathogenic potential (von Graevenitz et al., 2006).

The occurrence of corynebacteria in penguins has been reported mainly in the context of their possible role in various diseases. These microorganisms were isolated from bumblefoot infections of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) and, together with staphylococci, were the most common bacteria associated with this type of polymicrobial infection (Osório et al., 2013). Corynebacteria and staphylococci were also the most common bacteria cultured from eye swabs of healthy captive Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) (Swinger et al., 2009). Potti et al. (Potti et al., 2002) detected Corynebacterium as one of the most common genera isolated from the faeces of Magellanic penguin chicks and suggested that these bacteria might lead to a reduced growth rate in these animals. Alley et al. (Alley et al., 2017) showed that corynebacteria are involved in the development of diphtheritic stomatitis in Yellow-eyed penguin chicks (Megadyptes antipodes), and Çakır Bayram et al. (Çakır Bayram et al., 2021) isolated corynebacteria from the ocular pyogranulomatous lesions in a Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua). In addition, penguins were also the source of two new species, Corynebacterium spheniscorum and Corynebacterium sphenisci, which were described based on taxonomic studies of isolates from cloacal samples of healthy wild Magellanic penguins (Goyache et al., 2003, Goyache et al., 2003).

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