Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel zeaxanthin-producing marine bacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae.

A novel strictly aerobic, gliding, Gram-negative, rod-shaped, halo- and mesophilic bacterium (TD-ZX30(T)) was isolated from a seawater sample collected on the Pacific coastline of Japan near Kamakura City (Fujisawa, Kanagawa). The temperature range for growth of TD-ZX30(T) was between 16 and 44 degrees C. The DNA G+C content was 32.0mol%. The predominant fatty acids were iso-C(15:1) G, iso-C(15:0), iso-C(16:0) 3-OH, iso-C(15:0) 3-OH, Summed feature (iso-C(15:0) 2-OH and/or C(16:1)omega7c), iso-C(17:0) 3-OH, and C(15:0). MK-6 was the only respiratory quinone. Zeaxanthin was the major carotenoid pigment produced but flexirubin-type pigments were not produced. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that TD-ZX30(T) belonged to a distinct lineage in the family Flavobacteriaceae, sharing 93.9% sequence similarity with the nearest species Olleya marilimosa. TD-ZX30(T) could be distinguished from the other members of the family Flavobacteriaceae by a number of chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics. The results of polyphasic taxonomic analyses suggested that TD-ZX30(T) represents a novel genus and a novel species, for which the name Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TD-ZX30(T) (=NBRC 102119=CCUG 53614=DSM 18436).