Zooshikella ganghwensis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from tidal flat sediments

Two red pigment-producing bacterial strains with a metallic green sheen were isolated from a sediment sample of getbol, the Korean tidal flat. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences showed that these isolates represent a phyletic lineage within the gamma-Proteobacteria that is distantly related to the genus Hahella. No bacterial species with validly published names showed > or = 92% 16S rRNA similarity with the getbol isolates. The strains were gram-negative, chemo-organotrophic, aerobic and required NaCl (1-7%) for growth. They produced pigments with maximum absorption at 540 nm, which indicated the presence of prodigiosin, a well-known red pigment previously detected in Serratia marcescens. The major isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone-9. The predominant cellular fatty acids were saturated and monounsaturated straight-chain fatty acids. The DNA G + C contents ranged from 40 to 42 mol%. The combination of physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic data clearly separated the test strains from other phylogenetically related genera in the gamma-Proteobacteria. On the basis of polyphasic evidence from this study, it is proposed that the two getbol isolates should be classified in a novel genus, Zooshikella gen. nov., as Zooshikella ganghwensis sp. nov.