Two bacterial strains, 9H-EGSET and 15D-MOBT, were isolated from small freshwater habitats located near Salzburg, Austria. They showed the highest 16S rRNA sequence similarities of 100% and 99.9%, respectively, with type strains of species of the genus Aquirufa (Bacteroidota). Genome-based phylogenetic reconstructions with 119 amino acid sequences assigned the new taxa to the two distinct branches of the genus Aquirufa. Whole-genome average nucleotide identities were calculated with all possible pairs belonging to the genus. Values between 75.4% and 88.6% revealed that the two new strains represent each a new species. Like all, so far described members of the genus, they grew aerobically and chemoorganotrophically, were rod-shaped, red-pigmented, and motile by gliding, and showed genome sizes of about 3 Mbp and G + C values of about 40%. They could be distinguished by some phenotypic and chemotaxonomic features from their nearest related species. Until now, strain 9H-EGSET is the only one among the Aquirufa strains which contained traces of MK8 as respiratory quinone, and strain 15D-MOBT is the only one that formed tiny orange globules in liquid medium. The genome of strain 9H-EGSET comprised genes for the complete light-harvesting rhodopsin / retinal system, in the case of 15D-MOBT genes predicted for a nitrous oxide reductase were present. For the two new species of the genus Aquirufa, we propose to establish the names Aquirufa lenticrescens for strain 9H-EGSET (= JCM 34077 T = CIP 111926 T) and Aquirufa aurantiipilula for strain 15D-MOBT (= JCM 34078 T = CIP 111925 T).
Keywords: Aquirufa; Cytophagaceae; Freshwater; Genome; Genome size.
© 2022. The Author(s).