16S rRNA sequencing revealed a 99.17% homology to Francisella philomiragia, although a slightly higher value of 99.3% was published with the proposal for a new subspecies, i.e.Francisella philomiragia subsp. noatunensis, to accommodate the organisms. There was 92.2-99.0% homology with Francisella philomiragia housekeeping genes,groEL, shdA, rpoB, rpoA, pgm and atpA. A DNA:DNA
hybridization of 68% was recorded between the fish pathogen and Francisella philomiragia