RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 El Houmami, Nawal A1 Bakour, Sofiane A1 Bzdrenga, Janek A1 Rathored, Jaishiram A1 Seligmann, Hervé A1 Robert, Catherine A1 Armstrong, Nicholas A1 Schrenzel, Jacques A1 Raoult, Didier A1 Yagupsky, Pablo A1 Fournier, Pierre-EdouardYR 2017 T1 Isolation and characterization of Kingella negevensis sp. nov., a novel Kingella species detected in a healthy paediatric population JF International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, VO 67 IS 7 SP 2370 OP 2376 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.001957 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1466-5034, AB We herein report the isolation and characterization of 21 Gram-stain-negative strains cultivated from the oropharynx of healthy children in Israel and Switzerland. Initially described as small colony variants of Kingella kingae , phenotypic analysis, biochemical analysis, phylogenetic analysis based on sequencing of the partial 16S rRNA gene and five housekeeping genes (abcZ, adk, G6PD, groEL and recA), and whole genome sequencing and comparison between members of the genera Kingella and Neisseria provided evidence for assigning them to the genus Kingella . Cellular fatty acids included important amounts of C12 : 0, C14 : 0, C16 : 0 and C16 : 1n7. Digital DNA–DNA hybridization between the isolates Sch538T and K. kingae ATCC 23330T revealed relatedness of 19.9 %. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences available in GenBank allowed matches to strains isolated in the USA, suggesting a wider geographical distribution. A novel species named Kingella negevensis sp. nov. is proposed, as most strains have been isolated in the Negev, a desert region of southern Israel. The type strain is Sch538T (=CCUG 69806T=CSUR P957)., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.001957