Roseibacterium elongatum gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic, bacteriochlorophyll-containing bacterium isolated from the west coast of Australia

A novel aerobic, chemoheterotrophic, bacteriochlorophyll-containing bacterium, strain OCh 323T, was isolated from sand at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, located on the west coast of Australia. The cells were Gram-negative, non-motile rods of variable length; one or both cell poles was narrower. Bacteriochlorophyll a was synthesized under aerobic conditions. Catalase, oxidase and urease were produced. The ONPG reaction was positive. The major component of the cellular fatty acid was octadecenoic acid (18:1). The DNA G+C content was 68.1 mol%. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain OCh 323T formed a novel, separate line of descent within the alpha-3 group of the Alphaproteobacteria. The similarity value for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain OCh 323T and that of the most closely related species, Rhodovulum sulfidophilum, was 91.4%. It is concluded that strain OCh 323T (=JCM 11220T=CIP 107377T) should be placed in a novel genus, Roseibacterium gen. nov., as the type strain of a novel species Roseibacterium elongatum sp. nov.