Kozakia baliensis gen. nov., sp nov., a novel acetic acid bacterium in the α-Proteobacteria

Four bacterial strains were isolated from palm brown sugar and ragi collected in Bali and Yogyakarta, Indonesia, by an enrichment culture approach for acetic acid bacteria. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the four isolates constituted a cluster separate from the genera Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, Acidomonas, Gluconacetobacter and Asaia with a high bootstrap value in a phylogenetic tree. The isolates had high values of DNA-DNA similarity (78-100%) between one another and low values of the similarity (7-25%) to the type strains of Acetobacter aceti, Gluconobacter oxydans, Gluconacetobacter liquefaciens and Asaia bogorensis. The DNA base composition of the isolates ranged from 56.8 to 57.2 mol % G+C with a range of 0.4 mol %. The major quinone was Q-10. The isolates oxidized acetate and lactate to carbon dioxide and water, but the activity was weak, as with strains of Asaia bogorensis. The isolates differed from Asaia bogorensis strains in phenotypic characteristics. The name Kozakia baliensis gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed for the four isolates. Strain Yo-3(T) (= NRIC 0488(T) = JCM 11301(T) = IFO 16664(T) = DSM 14400(T)) was isolated from palm brown sugar collected in Bali, Indonesia, and was designated as the type strain.