Flavobacterium psychrotolerans sp. nov., a psychrotolerant bacterium isolated from Renlongba glacier on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

One aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain RB1R5^T, was isolated from Renlongba glacier in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Growth was observed at 4-25 °C and pH 7.0-8.0. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain RB1R5^T belongs to the genus Flavobacterium, and its closest relatives are Flavobacterium luteum IMCC26026^T and Flavobacterium psychroterrae CCM 8827^T with 97.75 and 97.42% gene sequence similarities, respectively. The average nucleotide identity and DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain RB1R5^T and its closest relative Flavobacterium luteum IMCC26026^T were 78.02 and 21.8 %, respectively. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C_{15 : 0} and summed feature 3 (comprising C_16:1ω7c/C_16:1ω6c). The sole menaquinone was MK-6. The major phospholipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. On the basis of phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic characterizations, strain RB1R5^T represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium psychrotolerans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is RB1R5^T (=CGMCC 1.23024^T=NBRC 113060^T).

Keywords: Flavobacterium psychrotolerans; Tibetan Plateau; glacier.