Lactococcus garvieae
is a fish pathogen that can cause diseases in humans and cows. Two genetically related species,
Lactococcus formosensis
and
Lactococcus petauri
, may be misidentified as
L. garvieae
. It is unclear if these species differ in host specificity and virulence genes. This study analyzed the genomes of 120
L
.
petauri
, 53
L
.
formosensis
, and 39
L
.
garvieae
isolates from various sources. The genetic diversity and virulence gene content of these isolates were compared. The results showed that 77 isolates previously reported as
L. garvieae
were actually
L. formosensis
or
L. petauri
. The distribution of the three species varied across different collection sources, with
L. petauri
being predominant in human infections, human fecal sources, and rainbow trout, while
L. formosensis
was more common in bovine isolates. The genetic diversity of isolates within each species was high and similar. Using a genomic clustering method,
L. petauri
,
L. formosensis
, and
L. garvieae
were divided into 45, 22, and 13 clusters, respectively. Most rainbow trout and human isolates of
L. petauri
belonged to different clusters, while
L. formosensis
isolates from bovine and human sources were also segregated into separate clusters. In
L. garvieae
, most human isolates were grouped into three clusters that also included isolates from food or other sources. Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed the differential association of 15 virulence genes, including 14 adherence genes and a bile salt hydrolase gene, with bacterial species and certain collection sources. In conclusion, this work provides evidence of host specificity among the three species.
IMPORTANCE
Lactococcus formosensis
and
Lactococcus petauri
are two newly discovered bacteria, which are closely related to
Lactococcus
garvieae, a pathogen that affects farmed rainbow trout, as well as causes cow mastitis and human infections. It is unclear whether the three bacteria differ in their host preference and the presence of genes that contribute to the development of disease. This study shows that
L. formosensis
and
L. petauri
were commonly misidentified as
L. garvieae
. The three bacteria showed different distribution patterns across various sources.
L. petauri
was predominantly found in human infections and rainbow trout, while
L. formosensis
was more commonly detected in cow mastitis. Fifteen genes displayed a differential distribution among the three bacteria from certain sources, indicating a genetic basis for the observed host preference. This work indicates the importance of differentiating the three bacteria in diagnostic laboratories for surveillance and outbreak investigation purposes.