A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-flagellated, yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated 0182T, was isolated from Gracilaria blodgettii, an algae of phylum Rhodophyta collected from coast of Lingshui county, Hainan, China (110° 03' 44.2'' E, 18° 24' 29.8'' N). The strain grew optimally at 30 °C, pH 7.0-7.5 and in the presence of 2.0-3.0 % (w/v) NaCl. Cells of strain 0182T were approximately 0.9-2.5 µm in length and 0.2-0.4 µm in width. The major respiratory quinone was MK-7. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The major polar lipids were phosphoaminolipid, glycolipid, two unknown aminolipids and four unknown lipids. The DNA G+C content was approximately 35.4 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain 0182T was phylogenetically related to members of the genus Crocinitomix and was closely related to Crocinitomix catalasitica with 94.6 % sequence similarity. On the basis of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic evidence, strain 0182T is thought to represent a novel species of the genus Crocinitomix, for which the name Crocinitomix algicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 0182T (=KCTC 42868T =MCCC 1H00128T).
Keywords: Crocinitomix algicola; Gracilaria blodgettii; polyphasic taxonomy.