Apilactobacillus intestinapis sp. nov., isolated from the honeybee

The genus <i>Apilactobacillus</i> currently includes 12 species with validly published names, the majority of which are closely associated with honeybees. A Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, catalase-negative and fructose-dependent strain, designated 1-1-2^T, was isolated from the gut of a honeybee (<i>Apis mellifera</i>). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain 1-1-2ᵀ represents a distinct lineage within the genus <i>Apilactobacillus</i>, with its closest phylogenetic neighbours being <i>Apilactobacillus kunkeei</i> YH-15^T (99.8% sequence similarity), <i>Apilactobacillus nanyangensis</i> HN36-1^T (99.8%) and <i>Apilactobacillus apinorum</i> Fhon13N^T (98.8%). The complete genome of strain 1-1-2^T comprised 1,596,221 bp, with a G+C content of 37.1 mol%. Pairwise comparisons of average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between strain 1-1-2^T and its closest phylogenetic neighbours - <i>A. kunkeei</i> DSMZ 12361^T, <i>A. nanyangensis</i> HN36-1^T and <i>A. apinorum</i> Fhon13N^T - revealed ANI values ranging from 80.1% to 93.8% and dDDH values ranging from 22.6% to 52.1%. Strain 1-1-2^T can also be distinguished from its closest relatives based on phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics. Accordingly, we propose that strain 1-1-2^T represents a novel species within the genus <i>Apilactobacillus</i>, for which the name <i>Apilactobacillus intestinapis</i> sp. nov. is proposed, with 1-1-2^T (=BCRC 81468^T=NBRC 117233^T) as the type strain.