Kocuria uropygioeca sp. nov. and Kocuria uropygialis sp. nov., isolated from the preen glands of Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major).

Two new species of Gram-positive cocci were isolated from the uropygial glands of wild woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) originating from different locations in Germany. A polyphasic approach confirmed the affiliation of the isolates to the genus Kocuria. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed high degree of similarity to Kocuria koreensis DSM 23367(T) (99.0. However, low ANIb values of textless80 growth characteristics, biochemical tests, MALDI-TOF MS analysis, and G+C contents clearly differentiated the isolates from their known relatives. Besides, the woodpecker isolates significantly differed from each other in their whole-cell protein profiles, DNA fingerprints, and ANIb values. In conclusion, the isolated microorganisms constitute members of two new species, for which the names Kocuria uropygioeca sp. nov. and Kocuria uropygialis sp. nov. are proposed. The type strains are 36(T) (DSM 101740(T)=LMG 29265(T)) and 257(T) (=DSM 101741(T)=LMG 29266(T)) for K. uropygialis sp. nov. and K. uropygioeca sp. nov., respectively.