Peptacetobacter felis sp. nov., a novel bile acid-converting bacterial species isolated from the feces of healthy cats in the United States

Six strains of a novel anaerobic bacterial taxa exhibiting bile acid-transforming activity were isolated from fecal samples of clinically healthy cats living in Oakland, California. l6S rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicate that strain AB800 ^T belongs to the genus Peptacetobacter , with Peptacetobacter hiranonis strain JCM l054l (98% coverage, 99.7% identity) as its closest relative. Whole genome sequencing shows an average nucleotide identity (ANI) of less than 96% (95.73% ANI, 90.53% AF) with the closest validly named species being Peptacetobacter hiranonis DGF055142 . The size is about 2.58 Mb, containing 2,355 predicted coding sequences and 2,450 annotated genes. Phenotypic characterisation, and comprehensive genomic analysis, including ANI, digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and core genome phylogenetic analysis, placing the strain AB800 ^T on a separate branch, supported the classification of a novel species, strain AB800 ^T (DSM l20482 = LMG 34035) with the proposed name Peptacetobacter felis sp. Nov., derived from “ felis” the latin name of cat felis catus . These findings expand our understanding of host-associated bile acid converters and provide promising candidates for probiotic development.