Abstract

A novel bacterium, designated strain ARSA-15T, was isolated from a freshwater sample collected from the Cheonho reservoir, Cheonan, Republic of Korea. The isolate was deepyellow pigment, Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, and catalase- and oxidase-positive. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate belongs to the genus Flavobacterium, and shared less than 97% sequence similarity with recognized Flavobacterium species. The novel species was able to grow at 10–37°C, pH 6.5–10.0, and in 0–0.5% (w/v) NaCl concentrations. Chemotaxonomically, iso-C15:1, iso-C15:0, and iso-C16:0 were observed to be the predominant cellular fatty acid, and menaquinone-6 (MK-6) was the predominant respiratory quinone. The major polar lipid patterns of strain ARSA-19T was phosphatidylethanolamine, unknown aminolipid (AL1 and AL2), and unidentified polar lipids (L1, L2, and L3). The genomic DNA G+C content of the isolate was 39.2 mol%. On the basis of polyphasic approach, strain ARSA-15T represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium cheonhonense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ARSA-15T (=KACC 14967T =KCTC 23180T =JCM 17064T).

• Keywords: freshwater; phylogenetic analysis; Flavobacterium