Clostridium amazonense sp. nov. an obliqately anaerobic bacterium isolated from a remote Amazonian community in Peru

• A novel Clostridium species was isolated from a remote Amazonian community in Peru.
• Novel organisms will provide insights into differences between remote and westernized communities.
• Interrelationships between taxa will provide functional aspects of such ecosystems.

A strictly anaerobic Gram-stain positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium designated NE08VT, was isolated from a fecal sample of an individual residing in a remote Amazonian community in Peru. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed the organism belonged to the genus Clostridium and is most closely related to Clostridium vulturis (97.4% sequence similarity) and was further characterized using biochemical and chemotaxonomic methods. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso C13:0 and C16:0 with a genomic DNA G + C content of 31.6 mol%. Fermentation products during growth with PYG were acetate and butyrate. Based on phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic information, strain NE08V was identified as representing a novel species of the genus Clostridium, for which the name Clostridium amazonense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NE08VT (DSM 23598T = CCUG 59712T).