Ruegeria haliotis sp. nov., Isolated from the Gut of the Abalone Haliotis rubra

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, white-pigmented, short rod-shaped, and alginate-degrading bacterium, designated B1Z28^T, was isolated from the gut of the abalone Haliotis rubra obtained at Weihai, China. Strain B1Z28^T was found to grow at 4-35 °C, pH 6.5-9.0, and in the presence of 0.5-8.0% (w/v) NaCl. Cells were positive for oxidase and catalase activity. The 16S rRNA-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that the nearest phylogenetic neighbors of strain B1Z28^T were Tritonibacter scottomollicae MCCC 1A06440^T (98.1%), Ruegeria faecimaris KCTC 23044^T (98.0%), and Ruegeria meonggei KCTC 32450^T (97.8%). Based on phylogenomic analysis, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between strain B1Z28^T and the neighbor strains were 71.6, 77.2, and 78.1%, respectively; the digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values based on the draft genomes between strain B1Z28^T and its closest neighbors were 20.5, 20.8, and 21.6%, respectively. Ubiquinone-10 (Q-10) was detected as the predominant respiratory quinone. The dominant cellular fatty acids were Summed feature 8 (contained C_18:1 ω7c and/or C_18:1 ω6c). The polar lipids included phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phospholipid (PL), aminolipid (AL), and three unidentified lipids. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics, strain B1Z28^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Ruegeria, for which the name Ruegeria haliotis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is B1Z28^T (= KCTC 72686^T = MCCC 1H00393^T).