Erythrobacter aquimixticola sp. nov., isolated from the junction between the ocean and a freshwater spring

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile and coccoid, ovoid or rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated JSSK-14^T, was isolated from the place where the ocean and a freshwater spring meet at Jeju island, South Korea. Strain JSSK-14^T grew optimally at pH 7.0–8.0, at 30 ºC and in the presence of 1.0–2.0% (w/v) NaCl. A neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JSSK-14^T fell within the clade comprising the type strains of species of the genus Erythrobacter. Strain JSSK-14^T exhibited 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values of 97.09–98.42% to the type strains of Erythrobacter gangjinensis, Erythrobacter atlanticus and Erythrobacter luteus and of 94.31–96.97% to the type strains of the other species of the genus Erythrobacter. Strain JSSK-14^T contained Q-10 as the predominant ubiquinone and C_{18: 1}ω7c as the major fatty acid. The major polar lipids of strain JSSK-14^T were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and sphingoglycolipid. The DNA G+C content of strain JSSK-14^T was 63.5 mol%, and its mean DNA–DNA relatedness values with the type strains of Erythrobacter gangjinensis, Erythrobacter atlanticus and Erythrobacter luteus were 13–25 %. Differential phenotypic properties, together with the phylogenetic and genetic distinctiveness, revealed that strain JSSK-14^T is separated from recognized species of the genus Erythrobacter. On the basis of the data presented, strain JSSK-14^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Erythrobacter, for which the name Erythrobacter aquimixticola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JSSK-14^T (=KCTC 52764^T=NBRC 112765^T).