Propionibacterium olivae sp nov and Propionibacterium damnosum sp nov., isolated from spoiled packaged Spanish-style green olives

Five strains of Gram-stain-positive bacteria were isolated from anomalous fermentations occurring in post-packaging of sealed airtight food-grade plastic pouches of Spanish-style green olives. These isolates could be grouped into two sets, which showed a similarity in their respective 16S rRNA gene sequences of 98.40 and 98.44% with Propionibacterium acidipropionici NCFB 563 and 98.33 and 98.11 % with Propionibacterium microaerophilum M5(T), respectively, and a similarity of 99.41 % between them. The 16S rRNA gene phylogeny revealed that the isolates grouped into two statistically well-supported clusters separate from P. acidipropionici NCFB 563 and P. microaerophilum M5(T). Enzymic activity profiles as well as fermentation patterns differentiated these two novel bacteria from other members of the genus Propionibacterium. Finally, phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic data, supported the proposal of two novel species of the genus Propionibacterium, for which the names Propionibacterium olivae sp. nov. (type strain, IGBL1(T)=CECT 8061(T)=DSM 25436(T)) and Propionibacterium damnosum sp. nov. (type strain, IGBL13(T)=CECT 8062(T)=DSM 25450(T)) are proposed.