Oceanibacterium hippocampi gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from cutaneous mucus of wild seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

Abstract

A Gram-negative, aerobic, motile and slightly curved rod-shaped bacterium (BFLP-8T28 ) was isolated from cutaneous mucus of wild long-snouted seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus) captured in northwest Spain (Toralla, Galicia). Strain BFLP-8T grew at 10– 35°C and pH 5–9 (optimally at 25°C and pH 7.0) and with 1–6% (w/v) NaCl (optimally with 2% NaCl). The predominant respiratory quinone (90%) was ubiquinone with ten isoprene units (Q-10) and the major fatty acids identified were C18:1ω7c (54.8% of the total), C19:0 cyclo ω8c (11.6%), C16:0 (9.5%), C18:1 2-OH (7.1%) and C16:1ω11c (6.7%). The G+C content of the DNA was 57.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain BFLP-8T 36 formed a distinct clade within the family Sneathiellaceae but is not specifically associated with any species in the family. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, strain BFLP-8T represents a novel species within a new genus, for which the name Oceanibacterium hippocampi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BFLP-8T (= CECT 7691T 40 = DSM 23444T41).