Moraxella caprae sp. nov., a new member of the classical Moraxellae with very close affinity to Moraxella bovis.

Eight phenotypically homogeneous Moraxella-like strains were isolated from the nasal flora of healthy goats. Total genomic DNA-DNA hybridization, DNA base composition determination, and genetic transformation studies were performed to determine the relationships of these bacteria to the classical moraxellae. The eight new isolates exhibited very high levels of genetic affinity to Moraxella bovis, as shown by quantitative and qualitative genetic transformation data, and exhibited high DNA-DNA relative binding ratios to each other (63% or more) but lower levels of DNA homology with all of the other species investigated, including the closely related classical moraxellae. Our results, combined with the general morphologic and phenotypic profiles of these organisms, indicate that they should be classified with the classical moraxellae, and we propose the name Moraxella caprae for them. Strain 8897 (= CCUG 33296 [corrected] = NCTC 12877) is the type strain of M. caprae.