Paracoccus indicus sp. nov., isolated from surface seawater in the Indian Ocean.

Strain IO390502T, isolated from surface seawater in the Indian Ocean, was characterised using a polyphasic taxonomy approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain IO390502T belongs to the genus Paracoccus and is closely related to Paracoccus seriniphilus DSM 14827T (97.6%), followed by P. zeaxanthinifaciens JCM 21774T (97.5%), P. homiensis DSM 17862T (97.3%), P. marcusii DSM 11574T (97.2%), P. haeundaensis BC 74171T (97.0%) and P. carotinifaciens E-396T (97.0%). Cells are Gram-negative, aerobic, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-accumulating, motile, rod-shaped, and forms creamy-white colonies. Optimal growth occurred at 25-30 °C, pH 5-8, and in the presence of 3-8% NaCl. The genome of strain IO390502T has a G+C content of 64.9 mol% and a 3.5 Mb chromosome. The in silico DNA-DNA hybridisation and average nucleotide identity values between strain IO390502T and the three closely related taxa, P. seriniphilus DSM 14827T, P. zeaxanthinifaciens JCM 21774T and P. homiensis DSM 17862T, are 19.6%, 21.9% and 20.6%, and 76.0%, 79.9% and 77.8%, respectively. Phosphatidylglycerol is the major lipid present, ubiquinone-10 (Q-10) is the sole isoprenoid quinone, and the major cellular fatty acid is C18:1ω7c. Based on data from phenotypic tests and genotypic differences between strain IO390502T and its close phylogenetic relatives, strain IO390502T represents a new species belonging to the genus Paracoccus, for which the name Paracoccus indicus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IO390502T (= JCM 32637T = CCTCC AB 2018071T).