%0 Journal Article %A Yang, Seung-Jo %A Kim, Byung-Yong %A Chun, Jongsik %T Rejection of reclassification of Lactobacillus kimchii and Lactobacillus bobalius as later subjective synonyms of Lactobacillus paralimentarius using comparative genomics %D 2017 %J International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, %V 67 %N 11 %P 4515-4517 %@ 1466-5034 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.002326 %K reclassification %K genome sequencing %K average nucleotide identity %K lactobacillus %I Microbiology Society, %X Lactobacillus bobalius , Lactobacillus kimchii and Lactobacillus paralimentarius belong to the genus Lactobacillus and show close phylogenetic relationships. In a previous study, L. bobalius and L. kimchii were proposed to be reclassified as later heterotypic synonyms of L. paralimentarius using high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (≥99.5 %) and DNA–DNA hybridization values (≥82 %). We determined high quality whole genome assemblies of the type strains of L. bobalius and L. kimchii , which were then compared with that of L. paralimentarius . Average nucleotide identity values among three genomes ranged from 91.4 to 92.3 % which are clearly below 95~96 %, the generally recognized cutoff value for bacterial species boundaries. On the basis of comparative genomic evidence, L. bobalius , L. kimchii , and L. paralimentarius should stand as separate species in the genus Lactobacillus . We therefore suggest rejecting the previous proposal to combine these three species into a single species. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.002326