Psychrobacter alimentarius sp. nov., isolated from squid jeotgal, a traditional Korean fermented seafood

Two Gram-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, moderately halophilic strains, JG-100^T and JG-102, were isolated from squid jeotgal, a traditional Korean fermented seafood. The two strains grew optimally at 30°C and in the presence of 2-3% (v/w) NaCl. Strains JG-100^T and JG-102 were characterized chemotaxonomically; they both had ubiquinone-8 as the predominant respiratory lipoquinone and C_18:1ω9c as the major fatty acid. Their DNA G+C content was 44 mol%. Strains JG-100^T and JG-102 showed 1 bp difference in their 16S rRNA gene sequences and a mean DNA-DNA relatedness level of 88%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains JG-100^T and JG-102 form a distinct phylogenetic lineage within the cluster comprising Psychrobacter species. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains JG-100^T and JG-102 had similarity levels of 95.2-98.4% to sequences of the type strains of recognized Psychrobacter species. Levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between strains JG-100^T and JG-102 and the type strains of some phylogenetically related Psychrobacter species were 6-24%. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic data and genomic distinctiveness, strains JG-100^T and JG-102 should be placed in the genus Psychrobacter as a novel species, for which the name Psychrobacter alimentarius sp. nov. (type strain, JG-100^T=KCTC 12186^T=DSM 16065^T) is proposed.