%0 Journal Article %A Tang, Ying %A Teng, Jade L. L. %A Cheung, Candy L. W. %A Ngan, Antonio H. Y. %A Huang, Yi %A Wong, Samson S. Y. %A Yip, Eric K. T. %A Ng, Kenneth H. L. %A Que, Tak-Lun %A Lau, Susanna K. P. %A Woo, Patrick C. Y. %T Tsukamurellaserpentis sp. nov., isolated from the oral cavity of Chinese cobras (Naja atra) %D 2016 %J International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, %V 66 %N 9 %P 3329-3336 %@ 1466-5034 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.001187 %K snake %K Tsukamurella %K serpentis %K novel %I Microbiology Society, %X Two bacterial strains, HKU54T and HKU55, were isolated from the oral cavity of two Chinese cobras (Naja atra) in Hong Kong. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed 100 % sequence identity between HKU54T and HKU55, and the two strains shared 99.0 % sequence identities with T sukamurella inchonensis ATCC 700082T. The two strains had unique biochemical profiles distinguishable from closely related species of the genus Tsukamurella . DNA–DNA hybridization confirmed that they belonged to the same species (≥92.1±7.9 % DNA–DNA relatedness) but were distinct from all other known species of the genus Tsukamurella (≤52.6±5.3 % DNA–DNA relatedness). Chemotaxonomic and morphological analyses of the two strains also demonstrated results consistent with their classification in the genus Tsukamurella . The DNA G+C contents of strains HKU54T and HKU55 were 69.2±1.5 mol% and 69.2±1.3 mol% (mean±sd; n=3) respectively. A novel species, Tsukamurella serpentis sp. nov., is proposed to accommodate strains HKU54T and HKU55, with HKU54T (=JCM 31017T=DSM 100915T) designated as the type strain. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.001187