Flavobacterium verecundum sp. nov., isolated from a freshwater river

Strain TTM-46T, isolated from a water sample taken from the Caohu River in Taiwan, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomy approach. Cells of TTM-46T were Gram-staining-negative, strictly aerobic, motile by gliding, rod-shaped, surrounded by a thick capsule and formedyellowish-green colored colonies. Growth occurred at 20-30 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 6-8 (optimum, pH 7) and with 0-0.3 % NaCl (optimum, 0 % w/v). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16 S rRNA gene sequences showed that TTM-46T represented a member of the genus Flavobacterium and was most closely related to Flavobacterium columnare IFO 15943T and Flavobacterium brevivitae TTM-43T with a sequence similarity of 96.9 % for both. TTM-46T contained iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1ω9c and/or 10-methyl C16 : 0), iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, iso-C15 : 1 G, iso-C15 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c) as the predominant fatty acids. The major isoprenoid quinone was MK-6. The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, four uncharacterized aminophospholipids and five uncharacterized phospholipids. The major polyamine was homospermidine. The genomic DNA G+C content of TTM-46T was 39 mol%. On the basis of the phylogenetic inference and phenotypic data, TTM-46T was recognized as a representative of a novel species within the genus Flavobacterium. The name Flavobacterium verecundum sp. nov. is proposed, with TTM-46T (=BCRC 80914T=LMG 29005T=KCTC 42745T) as the type strain.