Pseudohoeflea coraliihabitans sp. nov., a poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-producing, halotolerant bacterium isolated from coral sediment in the Dapeng peninsula (Guangdong, China)

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, motile, flagellated, rod-shaped, halotolerant, and poly- β -hydroxyalkanoate-producing bacterium, designated DP4N28-3 T , was isolated from offshore sediment surrounding hard coral in the Dapeng peninsula (Guangdong, PR China). Growth occurred at 15–35 °C (optimal at 30 °C), pH 6.0–9.5 (optimal at 6.0–7.0), and 0.0–30.0 % NaCl concentration (w/v, optimal at 0.0–2.0 %), showing halotolerance. Phylogeny based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, five housekeeping genes, and genome sequences identified Pseudohoeflea suaedae DSM 23348 T (98.1 %, 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) as the most related species to strain DP4N28-3 T . Average nucleotide identity, digital DNA–DNA hybridization, and average amino acid identity values between strain DP4N28-3 T and P. suaedae DSM 23348 T were all below the threshold of species demarcation. Major phenotypic differences were the flagella type and the limited sources of single carbon utilization by strain DP4N28-3 T , which only included acetic acid, acetoacetic acid, d -glucuronic acid, and glucuronamide. Strain DP4N28-3 T harboured the class I poly- β -hydroxyalkanoate synthase gene ( phaC ) and produced poly- β -hydroxybutyrate. The fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C 18 : 1 ω 6 c and/or C 18 : 1 ω 7 c , 49.4 %) and C 16 : 0 (13.4 %). The major cellular polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, and sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol. The respiratory quinone was Q-10. The results of the phylogenetic, genomic, phenotypic, and chemotaxonomic analysis indicated that the isolated strain represents the type strain of a novel species. Based on these results, strain DP4N28-3 T (=MCCC 1K05639 T =KCTC 82803 T ) is proposed as the type strain of the novel species Pseudohoeflea coraliihabitans sp. nov.