Gillisia myxillae sp nov., a novel member of the family Flavobacteriaceae, isolated from the marine sponge Myxilla incrustans

A yellow-pigmented, Gram-negative, rod-shaped, strictly aerobic bacterium (strain UST050418-085(T)) was isolated from the surface of a marine sponge, Myxilla incrustans, at Friday Harbor, WA, USA. The DNA G+C content of this strain was 34(.)6 mol%. The predominant fatty acids were i15: 0, a15: 0, i15: 1, i16: 0, i17: 0 3-OH, 17:0 2-OH and summed feature 3, comprising i15: 0 2-OH and/or 16: 1 omega 7c (altogether representing 69(.)0 % of the total fatty acids). MK-6 was the only respiratory quinone detected. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the closest relatives of UST050418-085(T) were members of the genus Gillisia, with sequence similarities of 93(.)2-96(.)6%. Strain UST050418-085(T) differed from its closest relatives by 11 to 18 phenotypic traits. Molecular evidence and phenotypic characteristics suggest that strain UST05041 8-085(T) represents a novel species within the genus Gillisia. The name Gillisia myxillae sp. nov. is proposed, with UST050418-085(T) (=JCM 13546(T) =NRRL B-41416(T)) as the type strain.