Genome-based reclassification of Desulfovibrio sp. G11 (DSM 7057) as Desulfovibrio falkowii with an emended description of the species

Desulfovibrio sp. G11, originally isolated from bovine rumen fluid, has served as a model organism in many studies. Our analyses suggest its reassignment to Desulfovibrio falkowii , a species recently described from the human gut microbiome. Here, we present a genome-based reclassification of strain G11 using digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH), average nucleotide identity (ANI) and phylogenomic inference. Our results show dDDH values ranging from 74.5 to 92.7% and an ANI of 98.73% between strain G11 and the D. falkowii type strain 13CB8C (DSM 116810T), supporting their relation. In addition, we expand the phenotypic description of D. falkowii by demonstrating catalase and desulfoviridin positivity and confirming motility in multiple strains, including the type strain previously described as non-motile.