Thalassotalea euphylliae sp nova., isolated from the torch coral Euphyllia glabrescens

Strain Eup-16(T), isolated from the torch coral Euphyllia glabrescens, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomy approach. Cells of strain Eup-16(T) were Gram-staining-negative, aerobic, motile by means of a single polar flagellum, contained poly-p-hydroxybutyrate, rod-shaped and formed pale yellow colonies. Optimal growth occurred at 25-30 degrees C, pH 7.5-9 and in the presence of 1% NaCl. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain Eup-16(T) belonged to the genus Thalassotalea and was most closely related to Thalassotalea montiporae CL-22(T) with sequence similarity of 98.4%. Strain Eup-16(T) contained summed feature 3 (C-16; (1)omega 7c and/or C16 :(1)omega 6c), C-18 : (1)omega 7c, C16 : 0 and C17: (1)omega 8c as the predominant fatty acids. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was Q-8. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain Eup-16T was 43.2 mol%. The DNA-DNA hybridization value for strain Eup-16(T) with T. montiporae CL-22(T) was less than 34%. Differential phenotypic properties, together with the phylogenetic inference, demonstrate that strain Eup-16(T) should be classified as a representative of a novel species of the genus Thalassotalea, for which the name Thalassotalea euphylliae sp. nov. is presented. The type strain is Eup-16(T) (=BCRC 80910(T)=LMG 29001(T)=KCTC 42743(T)).