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A novel aerobic bacterium, designated strain PIII.02T, was isolated from a Mediterranean sponge (Axinella polypoides) collected off the Israeli coast near Sdot Yam. The non-motile cells were Gram-staining-negative, oxidase-positive and catalase-positive. The orange pigment of colonies growing on marine agar was neither diffusible nor flexirubin-like. Strain PIII.02T grew at 15–35 °C, at pH 6.0–9.0, with 2.0–7.0 % (w/v) NaCl, and with 1.0-8.0 % (w/v) sea salts. The predominant fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 1 H, iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and C16 : 1ω7c. The major respiratory quinone was MK-7. The genomic DNA G+C content of the novel strain was 38.1 mol%. Results from 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain PIII.02T was distantly related to established members of the phylum Bacteroidetes . The established species found to be most closely related to the novel strain was Persicobacter diffluens NCIMB 1402T (87.6 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). Based on the phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data and the results of the phylogenetic analyses, strain PIII.02T represents a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Luteivirga sdotyamensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PIII.02T ( = ATCC BAA-2393T = LMG 26723T).

The taxonomic position of three bacterial strains, Asr22-19T, NBRC 101035 and NBRC 101041, isolated from shellfish in Japan, was determined by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The strains were facultatively anaerobic, motile by gliding and Gram-staining-negative slender rods. Their major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7 and their predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, iso-C15 : 0 3-OH, C16 : 0 3-OH, and C16 : 0. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 42.0–42.7 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strains clustered with the genus Persicobacter in the family ‘Flammeovirgaceae’. DNA–DNA relatedness values were higher than 68 % among strains Asr22-19T, NBRC 101035 and NBRC 101041, and were lower than 28 % between strain Asr22-19T and Persicobacter diffluens NBRC 15940T. The three novel strains could be differentiated from Persicobacter diffluens by several phenotypic characteristics. On the basis of these results, the novel species Persicobacter psychrovividus sp. nov. (type strain Asr22-19T=NBRC 101262T=CIP 109100T) is proposed and emended descriptions are given for the genus Persicobacter and for Persicobacter diffluens.

Phylogenetically, Cytophaga aprica and Cytophaga diffluens occupy independent positions in the flavobacter-bacteroides phylum. Both of these organisms are gram-negative rods that are motile by gliding, chemoorganotrophic, and aerobic, degrade several kinds of biomacromolecules, and inhabit marine environments. Their major isoprenoid quinone is menaquinone 7. The G+C content of the DNA of C. aprica is 35 to 37 mol%, and the G+C content of the DNA of C. diffluens is 40 to 42 mol%. In addition to constituting an independent phylogenetic lineage, each species has a distinctive cellular polyamine constitution. C. aprica is characterized by possessing cadaverine as its major polyamine, and C. diffluens is characterized by possessing spermidine, in contrast to most species of the genera Cytophaga, Flavobacterium, and Flexibacter and related organisms, which possess homospermidine. Transfer of C. aprica to the genus Flammeovirga gen. nov. as Flammeovirga aprica comb. nov. and transfer of C. diffluens to the genus Persicobacter gen. nov. as Persicobacter diffluens comb. nov. are proposed.