Flammeovirga agarivorans sp. nov., an agar-digesting marine bacterium isolated from surface seawater

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, gliding, reddish-orange-coloured, rod-shaped strain, designated SR4^T, was isolated from surface seawater sampled at Luhuitou fringing reef (South China Sea). Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene, phylogenomic analysis of single-copy gene families and whole genome data affiliated it to the genus Flammeovirga. It was most closely related to Flammeovirga yaeyamensis NBRC 100898^T (97.99 % 16S rRNA gene similarity). The genome average nucleotide identity and DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain SR4^T and its reference strains were less than 74.2 and 16.3 %, respectively. Growth occurred at 20-35 °C (optimum, 28 °C), pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and in the presence of 1-6 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2-4 %). The dominant fatty acids were C_16 : 0, iso-C_15 : 0 and C_20 : 4  ω6,9,12,15c. The polar lipid profile of strain SR4^T comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, two glycolipids, two aminophospholipids and three unidentified lipids. The major respiratory quinone was MK-7. The DNA G+C content of strain SR4^T was 34.20 mol%. On the basis of the polyphasic evidence, strain SR4^T is proposed as representing a novel species of the genus Flammeovirga, for which the name Flammeovirga agarivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SR4^T (=KCTC 82075^T=MCCC 1A17137^T).