Chryseobacterium piperi sp. nov., isolated from a freshwater creek

As part of an undergraduate microbiology course, a yellow-orange pigmented, Gram-staining negative, rod-shaped, non-motile bacterial strain, designated CTM(T), was isolated from a creek in North-central Pennsylvania during the winter of 2006. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the strain showed ~97 % similarity to that of Chryseobacterium soldanellicola PSD1-4(T) and Chryseobacterium soli JS6-6(T), while the protein-coding gyrB gene sequence of strain CTM(T) showed <87 % similarity to those of its two closest relatives. Using a polyphasic approach, strain CTM(T) was characterized and compared to these and other closely related species of the genus Chryseobacterium. Strain CTM(T) was similar to other strains of the genus Chryseobacterium in that it contained MK-6 as its major respiratory quinone, produced flexirubin-type pigments, oxidase and catalase, hydrolysed DNA, gelatin and aesculin and contained the fatty acids iso-C₁₅:₀, iso-C₁₇:₁ω9c, iso-C₁₇:₀ 3-OH and summed feature 3 (C₁₆:₁ω6c, C₁₆:₁ω7c and/or iso-C₁₅:₀ 2-OH). Based on the results of this study, strain CTM(T) represents a novel species of the genus Chryseobacterium, for which the name Chryseobacterium piperi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CTM(T) ( = ATCC BAA-1782(T)  = CCUG 57707(T)  = JCM 15960(T)  = DSM 22249(T)  = KCTC 23267(T)).