Taxonomic reassessment of the genus Elizabethkingia using whole-genome sequencing: Elizabethkingia endophytica Kampfer et al. 2015 is a later subjective synonym of Elizabethkingia anophelis Kampfer et al. 2011

The taxonomic status of all species of the genus Elizabethkingia was re-evaluated by comparative genomics based on whole-genome sequencing. From these results it is clear that Elizabethkingia endophytica is a later subjective synonym of Elizabethkingia anophelis. In addition, genome-based analysis revealed the misidentification of isolates previously identified by traditional approaches and indicates the presence of two more species. We propose a more rapid identification scheme on the basis of an in silico PCR assay derived from comparative genomics of whole-genome sequences (WGS) from 29 well-curated strains.