Chelatococcus caeni sp. nov., isolated from a biofilm reactor sludge sample.

A polyphasic taxonomic study was carried out on strain EBR-4-1(T), which was isolated from a biofilm reactor in the Republic of Korea. The cells of the strain were Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming, motile and rod-shaped. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence studies showed a clear affiliation of this strain to the Alphaproteobacteria, and it was most closely related to Chelatococcus daeguensis CCUG 54519(T), Chelatococcus sambhunathii HT4(T), and Chelatococcus asaccharovorans DSM 6462(T) with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to the type strains of these species of 98.8 %, 98.7 %, and 96.3 %, respectively. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain EBR-4-1(T) was 68.7 mol%. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data [Q-10 as the major ubiquinone; C19 : 0cycloω8c, C18 : 1 2-OH, and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c) as the major fatty acids] supported the affiliation of strain EBR-4-1(T) to the genus Chelatococcus. On the basis of the polyphasic evidence, it is proposed that strain EBR-4-1(T) should be assigned to a new species, Chelatococcus caeni sp. nov. The type strain is EBR-4-1(T) ( = KCTC 32487(T) = JCM 30181(T)).