Description of Lutimonas halocynthiae sp. nov., isolated from a golden sea squirt (Halocynthia aurantium), reclassification of Aestuariicola saemankumensis as Lutimonas saemankumensis comb. nov. and emended description of the genus Lutimonas

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, coccoid, ovoid or rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated RSS3-C1^T, was isolated from a golden sea squirt (Halocynthia aurantium) collected from the East Sea, South Korea. Strain RSS3-C1^T was found to grow optimally at 20-25 °C, at pH 7.0-8.0 and in the presence of 2.0 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain RSS3-C1^T clustered with the type strains ofLutimonas vermicola and Aestuariicola saemankumensis. Strain RSS3-C1^Texhibited 98.8% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to each type strain. Strain RSS3-C1^T contained MK-6 as the predominant menaquinone and iso-C_15:0, iso-C_17:0 3-OH and anteiso-C_15:0 as the major fatty acids. The major polar lipids of strain RSS3-C1^T were phosphatidylethanolamine and two unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain RSS3-C1^T was 39.2 mol%, and DNA-DNA relatedness to the type strains of and was 21±5.3 and 26±7.5%, respectively. The differential phenotypic properties, together with its phylogenetic and genetic distinctiveness, revealed that strain RSS3-C1^T is separated from http://dx.doi.org/10.1601/nm.11271 and http://dx.doi.org/10.1601/nm.13687. On the basis of the data presented, strain RSS3-C1^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Lutimonas, for which the name Lutimonas halocynthiae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is RSS3-C1^T (= KCTC 32537^T = CECT 8444^T). In this study, it is also proposed that Aestuariicola saemankumensis should be reclassified as a member of the genus Lutimonas, as Lutimonas saemankumensis comb. nov. (type strain SMK-142^T = KCTC 22171^T = CCUG 55329^T), and the description of the genus Lutimonas is emended.