The genus Abiotrophia (Kawamura et al.) is not monophyletic: proposal of Granulicatella gen. nov., Granulicatella adiacens comb. nov., Granulicatella elegans comb. nov. and Granulicatella balaenopterae comb. nov.

The genus Abiotrophia currently includes four species, Abiotrophia defectiva, Abiotrophia adiacens, Abiotrophia balaenopterae and Abiotrophia elegans. Recent 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies have demonstrated that the genus is not monophyletic and is in need of taxonomic revision. Phylogenetically, the genus Abiotrophia consists of two distinct lines, A. defectiva, the type species of the genus, and a robust group consisting of A. adiacens, A. balaenopterae and A. elegans. Therefore, it is formally proposed that the genus Abiotrophia should be restricted to A. defectiva and that A. adiacens, A. balaenopterae and A. elegans should be reclassified in a new genus, Granulicatella, as Granulicatella adiacens comb. nov., Granulicatella balaenopterae comb. nov. and Granulicatella elegans comb. nov.