Reclassification of Catabacter hongkongensis as Christensenella hongkongensis comb. nov. based on whole genome analysis

The genera Catabacter (family 'Catabacteraceae') and Christensenella (family Christensenellaceae) are close relatives within the phylum Firmicutes. Members of these genera are strictly anaerobic, non-spore-forming and short straight rods with diverse phenotypes. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes suggest that Catabacter splits Christensenella into a polyphyletic clade. In an effort to ensure that family/genus names represent monophyletic clades, we performed a whole-genome based analysis of the genomes available for the cultured representatives of these genera: four species of Christensenella and two strains of Catabacter hongkongensis. A concatenated alignment of 135 shared protein sequences of single-copy core genes present in the included strains indicates that C. hongkongensis is indeed nested within the Christensenella clade. Based on their evolutionary relationship, we propose the transfer of Catabacter hongkongensis to the genus Christensenella as Christensenella hongkongensis comb. nov.