Transfer of Pseudomonas elongata Humm 1946 to the genus Microbulbifer as Microbulbifer elongatus comb. nov.

Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences revealed that Pseudomonas elongata Humm 1946 is more closely related to the genus Microbulbifer than to authentic pseudomonads. The type strain of P. elongata (DSM 6810(T)) exhibited 16S rDNA similarity levels of 97.5 and 98.2 % to the type strains of Microbulbifer hydrolyticus and Microbulbifer salipaludis, respectively, but of less than approximately 92 % to Pseudomonas species with known 16S rDNA sequences. Respiratory lipoquinone and cellular fatty acid analyses showed that the type strain of P. elongata has characteristics similar to those of the genus Microbulbifer, not those of the genus Pseudomonas. P. elongata DSM 6810(T) contained ubiquinone-8 as the predominant respiratory lipoquinone and iso-C(15 : 0) as the major fatty acid. DNA-DNA relatedness data indicate that P. elongata is a species distinct from M. hydrolyticus and M. salipaludis. Therefore, on the basis of these data, P. elongata Humm 1946 should be transferred to the genus Microbulbifer as Microbulbifer elongatus comb. nov.