Methylobacterium jeotgali sp. nov., a non-pigmented, facultatively methylotrophic bacterium isolated from jeotgal, a traditional Korean fermented seafood.

A novel facultatively methylotrophic, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain S2R03-9(T), was isolated from jeotgal, a traditional Korean fermented seafood. The organism was strictly aerobic, motile by means of a single polar flagellum, non-sporulating and catalase- and oxidase-positive. Strain S2R03-9(T) grew in the presence of 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl and at pH 6.0-10.0, with optimum growth in the absence of NaCl and at pH 7.0. It grew at temperatures in the range 20.0-30.0 degrees C, with optimum growth at 30 degrees C. Colonies grown on R2A medium were non-pigmented, opaque and creamy white. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that it was most closely related to Methylobacterium organophilum JCM 2833(T) (96.6 % similarity) and the phylogenetic similarities to all other Methylobacterium species with validly published names were less than 95.0 %. The DNA G+C content was 64.9 mol%. The phylogenetic analysis, the phenotypic assessment and the chemotaxonomic data (major ubiquinone, Q-10; major fatty acids, C(18 : 1) and C(18 : 0)) showed that S2R03-9(T) represents a novel species within the genus Methylobacterium in the class Alphaproteobacteria, for which the name Methylobacterium jeotgali sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S2R03-9(T) (=KCTC 12671(T)=LMG 23639(T)).