Paracoccus haeundaensis sp. nov., a Gram-negative, halophilic, astaxanthin-producing bacterium.

An aerobic, non-motile, Gram-negative, orange-pigmented, rod-shaped, astaxanthin-producing marine bacterium was isolated from the Haeundae Coast, Korea. This strain, BC74171T, produced carotenoids, mainly astaxanthin. All the type strains of the genus Paracoccus were compared with strain BC74171T using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, fatty acid patterns and physiological reaction profiles. Based on the results of these analyses, it is proposed that strain BC74171T represents a novel species, Paracoccus haeundaensis sp. nov. The type strain is BC74171T (= KCCM 10460T = LMG P-21903T).