TODAY IN OUR LAB: Epilithonimonas vandammei

Epilithonimonas vandammei

Epilithonimonas vandammei is a species of bacteria that was proposed and named in 2020. It was derived from clinical specimens and is an orphaned species within the genus Epilithonimonas. The name “vandammei” is in honor of Peter Vandamme who made significant contributions to the study of the genus Chryseobacterium and related genera. The species was described based on its phenotypic differences from Chryseobacterium hominis and whole genome sequence results. It is a novel species that has been genetically characterized, and its tetracycline-resistance gene tet(X) has been studied. Another related species is Epilithonimonas ginsengisoli, which has been phenotypically and genomically characterized.