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Thirty-three previously non-typable faintly pigmented Gram-negative anaerobic bacterial isolates, biochemically most closely related to Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens, were analysed for enzymic reactions, cellular fatty acid (CFA) composition, electrophoretic mobility of malate and glutamate dehydrogenases, hybridization with P. intermedia and P. nigrescens species-specific oligonucleotide probes and, for genetic heterogeneity, by arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR). P. intermedia ATCC 25611T and P. nigrescens ATCC 33563T were run in parallel for comparison. Twenty-nine isolates originated from the normal oral flora of 18 subjects (including five mother-child pairs), and four isolates from various infections. Except for a negative lipase reaction, enzymic profiles of the test isolates were similar to those of P. intermedia and P. nigrescens. Clustering of CFAs, electrophoretic mobility patterns, hybridization with DNA probes for P. intermedia and P. nigrescens, and AP-PCR band patterns of the test isolates differed from those of the type strains of P. intermedia and P. nigrescens, suggesting the existence, in humans, of a new anaerobic species of pigmented, moderately saccharolytic, indole-positive Gram-negative rods.

Complete 16S rRNA gene sequences of three representative strains of anaerobic, Gram-negative, pigmented, moderately saccharolytic, indole-positive bacteria isolated from the oral cavity of humans were determined. According to comparative analyses of the rRNA sequence data, this organism represents a previously unknown species within the genus Prevotella. In addition, 22 representative strains and 21 reference strains (including 11 Prevotella intermedia and 10 Prevotella nigrescens strains) were subjected to multilocus enzyme electrophoretic analysis. The strains were consistently separated into three clearly distinct groups, corresponding to their previous entities. On the basis of the present phylogenetic results that confirmed our biochemical and genetic data, we propose a new species, Prevotella pallens. The type strain is NCTC 13042 (= AHN 10371).

The elevation of the two genotypes of Prevotella intermedia to species rank as P. intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens has increased the need for reliable differentiation between the two taxa. In this study, 53 strains, including strains whose species affiliations were known as well as fresh dental plaque isolates, were subjected to a multilocus enzyme electrophoretic analysis, DNA analyses in which we used whole genomic DNA, rRNA sequences, and an oligonucleotide specific for the former P. intermedia genotype II (P. nigrescens) as probes, and a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of soluble cellular proteins. All of these tests consistently separated the strains into the same two distinct groups corresponding to P. intermedia and P. nigrescens, confirming that the two species constitute two distinct populations of bacteria. Each of the tests used independently provided reliable identification to the species level. A previously reported heterogeneity in the pattern of human immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) degradation was not confirmed. No differences between species were observed. All of the strains induced total degradation of IgA1 within 48 h, a property that may be a virulence factor in periodontal disease development. The enzymes responsible for IgA1 degradation were not inactivated by the physiological proteinase inhibitors alpha 2-macroglobulin and alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor.