Genome Sequence of Eubacterium tarantellae DSM 3997 isolated from Fish Brain

Eubacterium tarantellae was originally cultivated from the brain of fish affected by twirling movements and was very recently associated to a human case of joint septic arthritis. The brain is generally considered an organ free of bacteria, that can be infected only after the alteration of the meninges caused by bacteria that have established a first infection elsewhere in the body. Nevertheless, it has been reported that this bacterium was exclusively isolated and cultivated from the brain of apparently healthy fish as well as from twirling fish, both collected in Biscaine Bay, Florida (Udey et al., 1977). Accordingly, this bacterium was named Eubacterium tarantellae and described as a non-spore forming anaerobe. It was suggested to be the first of a novel class of anaerobic fish pathogenic bacteria and has not yet been characterized in detail.(Udey L, Young RE, Sallman B. 1977. Isolation and characterization of an anaerobic bacterium, Eubacterium tararantellus sp. nov., associated with striped mullet (Mugil cephaIus) mortality in Biscayne Bay, Florida. J Fish Res Board Can 34:402-409.)