Nocardia anaemiae sp. nov. isolated from an immunocompromised patient and the first isolation report of Nocardia vinacea from humans.

Two actinomycete strains that were isolated from patients in Japan were assigned provisionally to the genus Nocardia based on their morphological characteristics. The two isolates were further studied to determine their specific taxonomic status. Detailed chemotaxonomic characterization and 16S rDNA sequence data for the strains showed that they are most similar to Nocardia vinacea. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments indicated that strain IFM 0344 should be identified as N. vinacea, and that strain IFM 0323T is classifiable as a new species. This report describes the first isolation of N. vinacea from clinical samples. A new species of the genus Nocardia is proposed based on their phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics: Nocardia anaemiae for IFM 0323T (=NBRC 100462T=JCM 12396T=DSM 44821T).