Novel species of Erysipelothrix in albatross. Genomic characterisation of a novel species of Erysipelothrix spp. associated with mortalities among endangered seabirds

In this study, we genomically characterised 16 Erysipelothrix spp. isolates obtained from three Indian yellow-nosed albatross chick carcasses on Amsterdam Island in 2019. Read mapping revealed that all isolates were closely related, with a maximum of 13 nucleotide differences distinguishing any pair of isolates. These genomes were compared with a global collection of genomes from E. rhusiopathiae and other closely related species from the same genus. The isolates from albatross were phylogenetically distinct, sharing a most recent common ancestor with E. rhusiopathiae. Based on standard thresholds for average nucleotide identity (ANI; >95%) and digital DNA-DNA hybridisation (dDDH; >70%), these isolates represent a novel Erysipelothrix species.