A Gram-stain-positive, non-endospore-forming rod-shaped bacterium, strain Ca11(T), was isolated from a bioreactor with extensive phosphorus removal and was studied in detail for its taxonomic allocation. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed closest sequence similarity of the strain to type strains of [Corynebacterium hoagii] and Rhodococcus equi (98.9%), Rhodococcus koreensis and Rhodococcus wratislaviensis (both 98.4%), Rhodococcus opacus and Rhodococcus canchipurensis (both 98.0%) followed by Rhodococcus kunmingensis and Rhodococcus imtechensis (97.7%). Phylogenetic trees showed a distinct clustering of strain Ca11(T) with the type strains of [C. hoagii], R. equi, and R. kunmingensis separate to all other species of the genus Rhodococcus. The quinone system of strain Ca11(T) was composed of dihydrogenated menaquinones with 8 (major amount) as well as 7 and 6 isoprenoid units [MK-8(H2), MK-7(H2), MK-6(H2)]. The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol mannoside, one unknown phospholipid and an unidentified glycolipid. The fatty acid profile was similar to that reported for R. equi and contained major amounts of C16:0, C18:1�s9c and 10-methyl C18:0, supporting the allocation of the strain to the genus Rhodococcus. Physiological and biochemical characterization and DNA-DNA hybridization with type strains of the most closely related species allowed clear phenotypic and genotypic differentiation of the isolate. On the basis of these results, strain Ca11(T) (= DSM 45893(T) = LMG 27563(T)) represents a novel species of the genus Rhodococcus, with the proposed name Rhodococcus defluvii sp. nov. In addition, a polyphasic taxonomic analysis of [Corynebacterium hoagii] DSM 20295(T) and Rhodococcus equi DSM 20307(T) indicated that the two strains belong to the same species, for which the name Rhodococcus hoagii comb. nov. takes priority, according to the Rules of the Bacteriological Code.

The taxonomic status of Rhodococcus equi, originally isolated from foal specimens, has been the subject of discussion for a number of years. The chequered history of the taxon has prompted this polyphasic analysis of R. equi strains, close members of the genus Rhodococcus and representatives of other genera classified in the order Corynebacteriales, to establish the taxonomic position of this taxon. Thirty one R. equi strains, including the type strain, were examined for genotypic and numerical taxonomic properties. The resultant data are consistent with their classification in the order Corynebacteriales but the R. equi strains formed a distinct phyletic clade away from representatives of other members of the genus Rhodococcus in the 16S rRNA gene tree. Representatives of this clade shared their highest pairwise 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with the type strain of Rhodococcus kunmingensis (95.2-98.1 %). However, the R. equi taxon was readily distinguished from R. kunmingensis and from the other members of the order Corynebacteriales using a combination of genotypic, chemotypic and phenotypic properties. On the basis of these data the R. equi strains are considered to represent a new genus. The name proposed for this taxon is Prescottia gen. nov., with Prescottia equi comb. nov. as the type species containing the type strain, C 7(T) (= ATCC 25729(T) = ATCC 6939(T) = CCUG 892(T) = CIP 54.72(T) = DSM 20307(T) = HAMBI 2061(T) = NBRC 14956(T) = JCM 1311(T) = JCM 3209(T) = LMG 18452(T) = NBRC 101255(T) = NCTC 1621(T) = NRRL B-16538(T) = VKM Ac-953(T)).

The discrepancies between the current description of the CAMP test between Listeria monocytogenes and Rhodococcus equi in the latest edition of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (L. monocytogenes is described as CAMP test negative with R. equi) and routine findings (positive reactions are usually described in many laboratories) make it advisable to review the current interpretation of the CAMP test to avoid confusion among people working in microbiological laboratories. Overall, 98.4% of the L. monocytogenes strains examined in this study, regardless of their source or the intensity of their hemolytic activity, displayed a synergic hemolytic reaction (CAMP phenomenon) with R. equi, indicating that L. monocytogenes can generally be considered CAMP positive with R. equi. We propose that L. monocytogenes, together with Listeria ivanovii, should be considered CAMP test positive with R. equi (circular or racket and semicircular or shovel shapes, respectively).

Rhodococcus equi is the only recognized animal pathogenic species within an extended genus of metabolically versatile Actinobacteria of considerable biotechnological interest. Best known as a horse pathogen, R. equi is commonly isolated from other animal species, particularly pigs and ruminants, and causes severe opportunistic infections in people. As typical in the rhodococci, R. equi niche specialization is extrachromosomally determined, via a conjugative virulence plasmid that promotes intramacrophage survival. Progress in the molecular understanding of R. equi and its recent rise as a novel paradigm of multihost adaptation has been accompanied by an unusual nomenclatural instability, with a confusing succession of names: "Prescottia equi", "Prescotella equi", Corynebacterium hoagii and Rhodococcus hoagii. This article reviews current advances in the genomics, biology and virulence of this pathogenic actinobacterium with a unique mechanism of plasmid-transferable animal host tropism. It also discusses the taxonomic and nomenclatural issues around R. equi in the light of recent phylogenomic evidence that confirms its membership as a bona fide Rhodococcus.

Recently we proposed that Rhodococcus equi (Magnusson 1923) Goodfellow and Alderson 1977 be transferred to a novel genus, Prescottia, as Prescottia equi comb. nov. However, in accordance with Principle 2 and Rule 51b(4) of the Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision), the bacterial genus name Prescottia Jones et al. 2013 is deemed illegitimate as this name has been used previously for a plant genus within the family Orchidaceae. Consequently, a new genus name, Prescottella gen. nov. is proposed for the bacterial taxon and a new combination Prescottella equi comb. nov. is proposed for the type species.