Flavobacterium maulense sp. nov. isolated from water samples culturing Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Chile

A yellow, Gram-negative staining, and presenting gliding motility strain designated as T-16 ^T was isolated from decanting water samples used for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolt rearing in Chile. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequences showed that strain T-16 ^T belonged to the genus Flavobacterium and was closely related to F. tiangeerense CGMCC 1.6847 ^T (98.64%), F. bizetiae CIP 105534 T (98.62%), F. frigoritolerans LS1R47^T (98.33%), and F. commune PK15^T (98.10%). Genome comparison grouped the strain with F. tiangeerense CGMCC 1.6847 ^T (92.73%), F. erciyesense F-328 ^T (87.22%), and F. turcicum F-339 ^T (87.22%). Regarding phenotypical traits, the strain showed optimal growth between 18 and 25 °C, pH 7.0, and with no NaCl addition to culture media. The major fatty acids were iso-C_15:0 and C_16:1ω7c/C_16:1ω6c (summed feature 3). The polar lipids detected were as follows: six aminolipids, three unidentified lipids, one phosphatidylethanolamine, and one glycolipid. The predominant menaquinones were MK-6 (97.4%) and MK-5 (2.6%). The genomic G+C content was 33.5%. The average nucleotide identity values were F. tiangeerense CGMCC 1.6847 ^T with 91.75%, F. turcicum F-339 ^T with 78.85%, and F. muglaense F-60 ^T with 74.82%. Based on the results of the different analyses and the differences found with the closest related species, strain T-16 ^T (= CECT 30411 ^T = RGM 3224 ^T) is proposed as representative of a new bacterial species Flavobacterium maulense sp. nov.