Endozoicomonas montiporae sp. nov., isolated from the encrusting pore coral Montipora aequituberculata.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain CL-33(T), was isolated from the encrusting pore coral Montipora aequituberculata collected from seawater off the coast of southern Taiwan. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the strain clustered closely with Endozoicomonas elysicola MKT110(T) (96.7 % similarity). The novel strain required NaCl for growth and exhibited optimal growth at 25 degrees C and in the presence of 2-3 % NaCl. Predominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)omega7c and/or C(16 : 1)omega6c; 39.6 %), summed feature 8 (C(18 : 1)omega7c and/or C(18 : 1)omega6c; 32.8 %) and C(16 : 0) (12.0 %). The DNA G+C content of strain CL-33(T) was 50.0 mol%. The results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed the clear phenotypic differentiation of this isolate from E. elysicola. It is evident from the genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data presented that strain CL-33(T) represents a novel species of the genus Endozoicomonas, for which the name Endozoicomonas montiporae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CL-33(T) (=LMG 24815(T) =BCRC 17933(T)).