Chelatococcus caeni sp. nov., isolated from a biofilm reactor sludge sample

A polyphasic taxonomic study was carried out on strain EBR-4-1 ᵀ, which was isolated from a biofilm reactor in the Republic of Korea. The cells of the strain were Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming, motile and rod-shaped. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence studies showed a clear affiliation of this strain to the Alphaproteobacteria , and it was most closely related to Chelatococcus daeguensis CCUG 54519 ᵀ, Chelatococcus sambhunathii HT4 ᵀ, and Chelatococcus asaccharovorans DSM 6462 ᵀ with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to the type strains of these species of 98.8 %, 98.7 %, and 96.3 %, respectively. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain EBR-4-1 ᵀ was 68.7 mol%. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data [Q-10 as the major ubiquinone; C ₁₉ : ₀cycₗₒω8 c , C ₁₈ : ₁ 2-OH, and summed feature 8 (C ₁₈ : ₁ω7 c and/or C ₁₈ : ₁ω6 c) as the major fatty acids] supported the affiliation of strain EBR-4-1 ᵀ to the genus Chelatococcus . On the basis of the polyphasic evidence, it is proposed that strain EBR-4-1 ᵀ should be assigned to a new species, Chelatococcus caeni sp. nov. The type strain is EBR-4-1 ᵀ (= KCTC 32487 ᵀ = JCM 30181 ᵀ).