Mar 5: Newly discovered bacterial species named after Rob Willems
Mar 5: Newly discovered bacterial species named after Rob Willems
Enterococci are gut microbes of most land animals. Over 60 enterococcal species are now known. Two species, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, are common constituents of the human microbiome. They are also now leading causes of multidrug-resistant hospital-associated infection. The basis for host association of enterococcal species is unknown.
Investigators from the worldwide Enterococcus Diversity Consortium collected 886 enterococcal strains from widely diverse hosts, ecologies, and geographies. This study – recently published in PNAS - identified 18 previously undescribed species, expanding genus diversity by >25 percent. All 18 new species were named after renowned investigators in the enterococci field, amongst these prof. Rob Willems, PhD (Department of Medical Microbiology, UMC Utrecht). The name 'Enterococcus willemsii' has been given to an enterococcus isolated from a chicken. The picture shows the place this species occupies in the genetic tree (upper left part of the picture).
If you achieve having a bacterium named after you, you can retire quietly (Rob’s retirement is scheduled for this summer).