Formosa haliotis sp. Nov., a brown-alga-degrading bacterium isolated from the gut of the abalone haliotis gigantea

Four brown-alga-degrading, Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-flagellated, gliding and rodshaped bacteria, designated LMG 28520^T, LMG 28521, LMG 28522 and LMG 28523, were isolated from the gut of the abalone Haliotis gigantea obtained in Japan. The four isolates had identical random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns and grew optimally at 25 °C, at pH 6.0-9.0 and in the presence of 1.0-4.0 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences placed the isolates in the genus Formosa with Formosa algae and Formosa arctica as closest neighbours. LMG 28520^T and LMG 28522 showed 100 % DNA-DNA relatedness to each other, 16-17 % towards F. algae LMG 28216^T and 17-20 % towards F. arctica LMG 28318^T; they could be differentiated phenotypically from these established species. The predominant fatty acids of isolates LMG 28520^Tand LMG 28522 were summed feature 3 (iso-C_{15 : 0} 2-OH and/or C_{16 : 1}ω7c), iso-C_{15 : 1} G and iso-C_{15 : 0}. Isolate LMG 28520^T contained menaquinone-6 (MK-6) as the major respiratory quinone and phosphatidylethanolamine, two unknown aminolipids and an unknown lipid as the major polar lipids. The DNA G+C content was 34.4 mol% for LMG 28520T and 35.5 mol% for LMG 28522. On the basis of their phylogenetic and genetic distinctiveness, and differential phenotypic properties, the four isolates are considered to represent a novel species of the genus Formosa, for which the name Formosa haliotis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LMG 28520^T (=NBRC 111189^T).