Two bacterial strains (B18BM42T and B18NM6) were recovered during a study of bacterial
diversity on wine grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) from the Nemea region in Greece. Phylogenetic analysis
based on 16S rRNA gene sequences placed the two strains within the genus Weissella, and
found them to be most closely related to Weissella minor NRIC 1625T followed by Weissella
viridescens NRIC 1536T (99.1 and 98.9% sequence similarity, respectively). The level of DNA–
DNA relatedness between strains B18NM42T and W. minor NRIC 1625T or W. viridescens NRIC
1536T was 31.9 and 35.0 %, respectively. The two novel strains could be genetically
differentiated from their closest relatives by REA-PFGE (restriction enzyme analysis-pulse field gel
electrophoresis), RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) and rep-PC R analyses (repetitive
sequence-based PCR). Physiological examination showed that the novel strains can be
distinguished from phylogenetically related species by their ability to grow at 42 6C and by certain
carbohydrate fermentations. Based on the evidence above, the affiliation of the two strains to a
novel species with the proposed name Weissella uvarum sp. nov. is suggested. The type strain is
B18NM42T (5DSM 28060T5NCCB 100484T).