Pseudorhodoferax aquiterrae sp. nov., isolated from groundwater

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, non-spore-forming and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-containing bacterial strain, designated NAFc-7(T), was isolated from groundwater in Taiwan and was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Growth occurred at 15-40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 6.0-7.0) and with 0-3 % NaCl (optimum, 0-1 %). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain NAFc-7(T), together with Pseudorhodoferax soli TBEA3(T) (98.2 % sequence similarity) and Pseudorhodoferax caeni SB1(T) (98.0 %), formed a deep line within the family Comamonadaceae. Strain NAFc-7(T) contained summed feature 3 (comprising C(16 : 1)ω7c and/or C(16 : 1)ω6c), C(16 : 0) and C(17 : 0) cyclo as the predominant fatty acids. The major 3-hydroxy fatty acid was C(10 : 0) 3-OH. The major isoprenoid quinone was Q-8 and the DNA G+C content was 67.6 mol%. The polar lipid profile consisted of a mixture of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylserine and an uncharacterized phospholipid. The DNA-DNA relatedness of strain NAFc-7(T) with respect to recognized species of the genus Pseudorhodoferax was less than 70 %. On the basis of the genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, strain NAFc-7(T) represents a novel member of the genus Pseudorhodoferax, for which the name Pseudorhodoferax aquiterrae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NAFc-7(T) (= BCRC 80210(T) = LMG 26333(T) = KCTC 23314(T)).