Systematic and Applied Microbiology 33 (2010) 316–321 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Systematic and Applied Microbiology journal homepage: www.elsevier.de/syapm Breoghania corrubedonensis gen. nov. sp. nov., a novel alphaproteobacterium isolated from a Galician beach (NW Spain) after the Prestige fuel oil spill, and emended description of the family Cohaesibacteraceae and the species Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus Sara Gallego a , Joaquim Vila a , José María Nieto a , Mercedes Urdiain b , Ramon Rosselló-Móra b , Magdalena Grifoll a,∗ a b Departament de Microbiologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain Marine Microbiology Group, Department of Ecology and Marine Resources, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), E-07190 Esporles, Mallorca, Spain a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 17 March 2010 Keywords: Taxonomy Hydrocarbon biodegradation Maldi-Tof MLSA Breoghania corrubedonensis New genus a b s t r a c t A Gram-negative bacterium designated UBF-P1T was isolated from an enrichment culture established in nutrient supplemented artificial sea water with pyrene as a carbon source, and inoculated with a marine fuel oil-degrading consortium obtained from a sand sample collected from the beach of Corrubedo (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain) after the Prestige accidental oil spill. Phylogenetic analysis based on the almost complete 16S rRNA gene sequence affiliated strain UBF-P1T with the family Cohaesibacteraceae, Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus (DSM 18289T ) being the closest relative species with 92% sequence similarity. Cells were irregular rods, motile, strictly aerobic, catalase and oxidase positive. Ubiquinone 10 was the major respiratory lipoquinone. The major polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME), and phosphatidylcholine (PC). The major fatty acids detected were C18:1 ω7c, C19:0 cycloω8c, and C16:0 . The G + C content of strain UBF-P1T was 63.9 mol%. The taxonomic comparison with the closest relative based on genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics supported that strain UBF-P1T could be classified as a novel genus and species, for which the name Breoghania corrubedonensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of this new taxon is UBF-P1T (CECT 7622, LMG 25482, DSM 23382). © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. Bergey’s Manual describes the order Rhizobiales as a phenotypically heterogeneous assemblage of Gram-negative bacteria, solely based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis [13]. The family Cohaesibacteraceae [8] has been recently proposed, and includes a single genus and species, Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus, formed by strains from a coastal marine environment. The description of the novel family was mainly based on the fact that phylogenetic analysis (16S rRNA) revealed a distinct lineage that did not cluster with any of the previous families. In addition, Cohaesibacter could be differentiated from members of other families by a combination of chemotaxonomic characteristics, including a DNA content of 53% G + C, Q-10 as the sole major respiratory quinone, polar lipid composition, and a few minor phenotypic characters (e.g. presence of gelatinase activity, nitrate reduction, urease activity and lack of arginine dihydrolase). In this study, we propose a new genus within the family Cohaesibacteraceae for a bacterial strain obtained ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 934 035 752; fax: +34 934 034 629. E-mail address: mgrifoll@ub.edu (M. Grifoll). 0723-2020/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.syapm.2010.06.005 from a beach in the northwest of Spain after the Prestige oil spill in 2002, and additionally investigate its catabolic capabilities for hydrocarbon degradation. Following the oil spill, an autochthonous fuel oil-degrading microbial mixed culture (UBF) was obtained that was used in a series of studies that evaluated the efficacy of different microbial inocula in the bioremediation of the contaminated shoreline [5,6]. To obtain this culture, a sand sample from the beach of Corrubedo (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain), heavily polluted with fuel from the Prestige incident, was used to inoculate an enrichment medium based on artificial sea water (ASW) (per litre: NaCl, 24.53 g; Na2 SO4 , 4.11 g; MgCl2 , 11.2 g; CaCl2 , 1.16 g; SrCl2 , 0.042 g; KCl, 0.7 g; NaHCO3 , 0.2 g; KBr, 0.1 g; H3 BO3 , 0.0029 g; NaF, 0.003 g) supplemented with nutrients (NH4 NO3 10 mM and Na2 HPO4 1 mM) and metals (per litre: MgSO4 ·7H2 O, 0.2 g; FeSO4 ·7H2 O, 12 mg; MnSO4 ·H2 O, 3 mg; ZnSO4 ·7H2 O, 3 mg; CoCl2 ·6H2 O, 1 mg; nitrilotriacetic acid disodium salt, 0.123 g), and containing fuel recovered from the sea as a sole source of carbon and energy (5 g L−1 ). Incubation was at 25 ◦ C and 200 rpm. According to a recent study [30], after several years of biweekly transfers the UBF culture comprises S. Gallego et al. / Systematic and Applied Microbiology 33 (2010) 316–321 a stable microbial consortium capable of extensive degradation of all the neutral components of fuel, including high molecular weight alkanes, PAHs and alkylated derivatives. To further characterize its components, UBF was used to inoculate (500 ␮L) a subculture in the same marine mineral medium (25 mL) containing the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pyrene as a carbon source (0.2 g L−1 ), and, after 2 years of monthly transfers (1:50) serial dilutions of this pyrene degrading subculture were spread onto plates containing a 1/10 dilution of Luria Bertani medium (final concentration per litre; peptone 1 g, yeast extract 0.5 g) prepared in artificial sea water (LB 1/10 ASW) and solidified with agar (15 g L−1 ). The plates were incubated at 25 ◦ C for 15 days. Five colonies corresponding to one of the most abundant morphologies were purified in the same medium. To visualize whether the isolates constituted different populations, a RAPD analysis was performed using primers RAPD1 and RAPD2, according to Peña et al. [18], and also their 16S rRNA gene was sequenced as explained below. RAPD analysis revealed identical amplification patterns of all five strains, which indicated that they all represented a single clonal population, probably selected through the various reinoculation steps. A single strain that was named UBF-P1 was selected for further taxonomic characterization. After 1 week of incubation, the colonies were circular, mucoid, cream coloured, and measured about 1 mm in diameter. The different clonal variants of the strain were maintained in culture under the same conditions, but were also stored at −80 ◦ C (in LB 1/10 ASW with 20% glycerol). Strain UBF-P1 grew on full strength LB medium with either ASW or 3% NaCl, R2A medium (Difco) with 3% NaCl, and Marine Agar (Difco). A separate study, including 16S rDNA PCR-DGGE and clone library analysis of the pyrene degrading mixed culture from where strain UBF-P1 was isolated, confirmed that UBF-P1 was the most abundant component [30]. The almost complete 16S rRNA gene of strain UBF-P1 was amplified by using Taq DNA polymerase (Biotools B&M Labs, Madrid, Spain) and the bacterial universal primers 27f (5′ -AGAGTTTGATCMTGGCTCAG-3′ ) and 1521r (5′ AAGGAGGTGATCCAGCCGCA-3′ ) [31]. The PCR product was purified by using the Qiaex II Extraction kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany), and sequenced with the ABI Prism BigDye Terminator cycle-sequencing reaction kit (version 3.1), following the manufacturer’s instructions. The reactions were performed using the amplification primers 27f and 1521r, but also internal primers 357f (5′ -ACTCCTACGGGAGGCAGCAG-3′ ) and 1087r (5′ -CTCGTTGCGGGACTTAACCC-3′ ). Sequencing reactions were obtained with an ABI Prism 3700 Applied Biosystems automated sequencer at the Scientific-Technical Services of the University of Barcelona. DNA sequencing runs were assembled using the BioEdit software [7]. The new sequence with the accession number GQ272328 was added to the updated and prealigned 16S rRNA gene database (LTP s100, http://www.arb-silva.de/projects/livingtree/) compiling all sequences of all type strains for which an entry of high quality has been found [33]. The sequence was aligned by using the ARB software package [14] (http://www.arb-home.de), and manually improved. The tree reconstructions (Supplementary Figures S1–S4) were performed by either using the neighbour joining program, as implemented in the ARB software package, or by using the RAxML algorithm version 7.0 with the GTRGAMMA model [22]. In all cases, the tree reconstructions were performed by using a sequence conservation filter of 40% for all Bacteria. For the reconstructions, the closest alphaproteobacterial type strains with a fully sequenced genome available in the public repositories (Supplementary Figures S1 and S3) were used. Alternatively, the sequences with highest similarity not present in the genome repositories were included (Supplementary Figures S2 and S4). The closest relative sequence, with 92% sequence identity, was in all cases that of Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T , 317 that affiliated together with our isolate in all neighbour joining reconstructions. However, maximum likelihood reconstructions rendered trees where the new isolate always appeared independently affiliated within the Alphaproteobacteria. In no case could UBF-P1 be affiliated with a classified genus. The value of 92% identity with its close relative was clearly below the mean (96.4% ± 0.2) or minimum identity (94.9 ± 0.4) used to differentiate a single genus [33], thus it appeared plausible to conclude that strain UBF-P1 belongs to a new genus within the Alphaproteobacteria. Further phylogenetic, genetic and phenotypic studies on strain UBF-P1 were performed in parallel with its closest relative, the type strain of C. gelatinilyticus (DSM 18289T ) obtained from DSMZ (Braunschweig, Germany). To clarify the affiliation of both isolates, a multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) was performed by concatenating the genes atpD (ATP synthase F1, beta subunit), pyrG (CTP synthase), rpoB (RNA polymerase beta subunit), fusA (translation elongation factor G), and 16S rRNA, or, alternatively, by omitting the 16S rRNA gene sequences. The partial sequences of each gene for strain UBF-P1, and for the type strain of C. gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T , were obtained by using the primers, amplification conditions, and sequencing approach described elsewhere [28]. The accession numbers for the newly sequenced partial genes are FN598910 to FN598917. For the phylogenetic reconstruction, the homologous genes were selected only from the collection of type strains of the Alphaproteobacteria for which a fully sequenced genome was available [20]. The homologous sequences were retrieved from the public repository MicrobesOnline [1], and each gene was independently aligned by using the program Clustal X 1.83 [24]. Hypervariable and unalignable positions of each alignment were removed by using the available online program Gblocks (http://molevol.cmima.csic.es/castresana/Gblocks server.html) and the default conditions [2]. The resulting improved alignments were concatenated in a single dataset (Supplementary Table S1). The phylogenetic analyses were performed by using the RAxML algorithm version 7.0 with the GTRGAMMA model [22]. The bootstrap analyses were carried out by using 100 replicates. As shown in Fig. 1, the concatenated five partial sequences, using only highly conserved positions, reconstructed a very stable tree where most of the bootstrap values were close to 100%. Both strains UBF-P1 and C. gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T affiliated together consistently. Nearly identical results were obtained when analysing the concatenate with the omission of the 16S rRNA gene sequence (Supplementary Figure S5). The identity of both strain-concatenates ranged from 87.8% to 85.6%, depending on whether or not the 16S rRNA gene sequence was included. The results of the isolation of strain UBF-P1 within the fully sequenced Alphaproteobacteria resulted in agreement with the observations made after the reconstruction of the 16S rRNA (Supplementary Figures S1–S4). In both cases, the phylogenetic divergences were in agreement with the classification of UBF-P1 as a new alphaproteobacterial genus. According to the results (i.e. a 92% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity to the type strain of the type genus of the family, and the stable affiliation of the concatenates after MLSA) the new isolate seemed to fall into the recently proposed family Cohaesibacteraceae [8]. However, the 16S rRNA gene sequence of UBF-P1 did not share the signature positions 194 (G instead of T), 678 (T instead of A), 712 (A instead of T) given for the family [8], nor the 1244 (G instead of A) or 1293 (C instead of T) positions. The signatures found in this study more closely resembled the majority of the other families of the order. Consequently, these observations led to the reliability of signature positions for circumscribing families to be questioned. Morphological and physiological tests for both strains studied were carried out as follows: Gram staining was performed as described by Reddy et al. [19]. Cellular morphology and the presence of flagella were observed using transmission electron microscopy (GEOL JEN-1010, operating at 80 kV). Images were 318 S. Gallego et al. / Systematic and Applied Microbiology 33 (2010) 316–321 Fig. 1. MLSA phylogenetic reconstruction based on concatenated genes atpD, pyrG, rpoB, fusA, and 16S rRNA of strain UBF-P1T , the type strain of Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T , and the selection of type strains of the Alphaproteobacteria for which fully sequenced genomes are available in the public repositories. The tree was reconstructed by using the RAxML algorithm version 7.0 with the GTRGAMMA model [22]. The bootstrap analysis was carried out by using 100 replicates. The bar indicates 10% alignment divergence. The similarity of the concatenated sequences of UBF-P1T and the type strain of Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T is 87.8%. taken with a Megaview camera III (Soft Imaging System SIS). Motility was determined by the hanging drop method [19]. Anaerobic growth was checked on LB 3% NaCl and in Marine Agar using the GasPak anaerobic system incubated both in natural light and the dark. The temperature range for growth was determined on the basis of both OD600 increment in liquid LB 3% NaCl (7 days incubation) and colony formation on LB 3% NaCl plates (20 days) incubated at 4, 10, 15, 21, 25, 30, 37, 40, 42 and 45 ◦ C. The pH range (pH 4.5–10 at intervals of 0.5 units) for growth was determined in LB 3% NaCl liquid medium. To test salt tolerance, liquid LB containing various concentrations of NaCl [0, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8.5, 10, 15 and 20% (w/v)] was used. Catalase and oxidase activities were determined according to the protocols of Smibert and Krieg [21]. Nitrate and nitrite reduction, the production of indole, arginine dihydrolase, urease, gelatinase, and the hydrolysis of aesculin were tested using the API 20NE kit (bioMérieux), according to the manufacturer’s instructions, except that the colonies used as inocula were suspended in a 3% NaCl aqueous solution (w/v). Utilization of different organic compounds as carbon sources was tested in ASW supplemented with mineral nutrients and yeast extract (25 mg L−1 ), containing each of the test compounds at 5 mM except for complex substrates (yeast extract and casaminoacids, 1 g L−1 ), starch (0.1 g L−1 ), hydrocarbons (0.5 g L−1 ), or solvents (methanol and acetone, 50 mM). After 20 days incubation, growth was considered positive when the cell protein concentration in cultures (determined using a modification of the Lowry method [3]) was three fold that found for cultures without the test compound. All phenotypic assays (except the temperature range for growth) were carried out at 30 ◦ C, which was the optimum temperature for growth of the strain. The tests for hydrolysis of DNA, starch and Tween 80 were performed according to Reddy et al. [19] by the Identification Services of DMSZ, Braunschweig, Germany. The fatty acid methyl ester, polar lipid, respiratory quinone, and DNA base composition analyses were carried out at the DSMZ. Fatty acid methyl esters were obtained from whole cells grown on Marine Agar (Difco) at 25 ◦ C for 3 days using the methods of Miller [15] and Kuykendall et al. [12], and were analysed by GC using the Sherlock Microbial Identification System (MIS) (MIDI, Microbial ID, Newark, DE). The analyses of polar lipids (2D-TLC) and respiratory quinones (TLC-HPLC) were performed by Dr. B.J. Tindall [26,27]. The DNA G + C content was determined according to Mesbah et al. [16], and Tamaoka and Komagata [23]. DNA was enzymically hydrolysed and dephosphorilated, and the resultant nucleosides were analysed by HPLC. The results showed that strain UBF-P1 was a Gram-negative bacterium forming regular, irregular or bulbous rods, motile by one or two subpolar flagella, and approximately 0.6–0.7 ␮m wide and 2–3.5 ␮m long, that reproduced by asymmetric division (Fig. 2 and Supplementary Figure S6). The morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics found for strain UBF-P1 are given in the corresponding genus and species descriptions. Given the phenotypic heterogeneity within each of the different families forming the order [8,13] it was not easy to differentiate strain UBF-P1 from the rest of the families on this basis. However, strain UBF-P1 could be differentiated from its closest relative genus, Cohaesibacter, by means of nitrite reduction, gelatine hydrolysis, ADH, ODC, and urease tests (Table 1). Other biochemical differences are shown in the supplementary material (Supplementary Table S2). It is also important to notice that our results for strain DSM 18289T showed some differences compared to the original descrip- S. Gallego et al. / Systematic and Applied Microbiology 33 (2010) 316–321 319 Table 1 Distinctive characteristics of strain UBF-P1T and C. gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T . Unless indicated, the tests were simultaneously performed using both strains. Characteristic Cell shape Cell size (mm) Division type Motility Flagella Growth temperature (◦ C) Optimal Range NaCl range for growth (%) Range Growth pH Optimal Range Oxygen requirement Catalase Oxidase Nitrate reduction Nitrite reduction Gelatine hydrolysis ADH test Urease G + C content (mol%) Major quinone Major fatty acid(s) (>10%) Major polar lipids a b c Bacterial strain UBF-P1T C. gelatinilyticus CL-GR15T Regular, curved, bulbous rods 0.6–0.7 × 2.0–3.5 Binary fission or asymmetric division + 1 or 2, subpolar Irregular rodsa 0.2–0.4 × 1.0–3.0a Binary fission or asymmetric divisiona + Polara 30 15–40 25–30 15–31 1–10% 2–5% 7.5 5.0–8.5 Aerobic + + + − − + + 63.9 Q-10 C18:1 ω7c (75.3%) Diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG) Phosphatidylglycerol (PG) Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) Phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME) Phosphatidylcholine (PC) 8.0 6.0–9.0 Facultatively anaerobic + + +b +b + − − 52.8–53 Q-10 C18:1 ω7c (58.8); Summed feature 3c (20.8) Diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG) Phosphatidylglycerol (PG) Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) Phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME) Phosphatidylcholine (PC) Data reported by Hwang and Cho [8]. Our results differ from the previously reported data by Hwang and Cho [8]. Feature 3 contains one or more of C16:1 ω 7c and/or C15:0 ISO 2-OH. tion, and these are indicated in the same tables. The cellular fatty acid profile of UBF-P1 (Table 2) was characterized by C18:1 ω7c (75.3%), while other fatty acids found in smaller amounts were C19:0 cycloω8c (6.4%) and C16:0 (4.4%). This predominance of octadecenoic acids together with a cyclic C19:0 fatty acid is typical of the Rhizobiales [4,9,11,17,25,32]. Cohaesibacter also had C18:1 ω7c as a major fatty acid, but, in addition, it showed considerable amounts of C16:1 ω7c and/or C15:0 iso 2-OH (20.8%) and C20:1 ω7c (9.2%), while C19:0 cycloω8c was detected in a very low concentration (0.6%). The polar lipid content (Table 1 and Supplementary Figure S7) was similar in both strains, including diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME), and phosphatidylcholine (PC) as major components. The respiratory lipoquinone was Q-10, which is present in all the families of the order. The DNA G + C content of UBF-P1 was 63.9 mol%, which is more than 10% higher than that of Cohaesibacter, but falls within the variability of the members of the order [8]. Finally, a matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-offlight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis was performed Table 2 Fatty acid composition of strain UBF-P1T and C. gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T . Values are percentages of total fatty acids. Cells were grown on Marine Agar at 25 ◦ C. The analyses were simultaneously performed on both strains. Fatty acid Summed feature 2a Summed feature 3a C16:0 C17:1 ω6c C17:0 C18:1 ω7c C18:0 C19:0 cyclo ␻8c C19:0 10 methyl C18:0 3-OH C20:1 ␻7c C20:1 ␻9c Otherb Fig. 2. Transmission electron micrographs of negatively stained cells of strain UBFP1T . Content (%) UBF-P1T C. gelatinilyticus CL-GR15T 0.9 2.5 4.4 0.5 0.9 75.3 2.2 6.4 – 2.4 – 1.3 3.3 2.5 20.8 0.7 – – 58.8 3.0 0.6 0.7 2.5 9.2 – 1.1 a Summed features contain one or more of the following: feature 2, C14:0 3-OH and/or C16:1 ISO I; feature 3, C16:1 ω7c and/or C15:0 iso 2-OH. b Sum of identified components that made up less than 0.5% or unknown (less than 2%). 320 S. Gallego et al. / Systematic and Applied Microbiology 33 (2010) 316–321 on UBF-P1 and C. gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T in order to evaluate the discrimination power of this technique. The cells were grown on LB solid medium until colonies of about 1 mm in diameter were visible. For mass spectral analyses, a small amount of cells (105 to 106 cells) was transferred to a FlexiMass stainless steel target with a sterile pipette tip. The cells were extracted on the target with 1 ␮L matrix solution consisting of a saturated solution of ␣-cyano-4hydroxy-cinnamic acid in a mixture of acetonitrile:ethanol:water (1:1:1) acidified with 3% (v/v) trifluoroacetic acid. The suspension of cells in the matrix solution was allowed to evaporate at room temperature and crystal formation was observed visually. For each strain, mass spectra were prepared in duplicates and analysed on an AXIMA Confidence instrument (Shimadzu/Kratos, Manchester, UK) in linear positive ion extraction mode. Mass spectra were accumulated from 100 profiles each from five nitrogen laser pulse cycles, scanning the entire sample spot. Ions were accelerated with pulsed extraction at a voltage of 20 kV. Raw mass spectra were processed automatically for baseline correction and peak recognition. As shown in Supplementary Figure S8, both strains had a completely different profile for the major detectable macromolecules, and the profiles have been stored in the SARAMIS reference spectra database for future identification [http://qww.anagnostec.de; [10]]. All the phylogenetic, genetic and phenotypic data analysed in this study indicated that strain UBF-P1 clearly isolated within the order Rhizobiales, and affiliated with the family Cohaesibacteraceae [8]. However, the dissimilarities with the type strain of the closest genus C. gelatinilyticus DSM 18289T , makes it plausible to circumscribe our isolate as a new genus and species. For this reason, we propose Breoghania corrubedonensis gen. nov. sp. nov., as a novel member of the order Rhizobiales. The strain UBF-P1T has been deposited in three international culture collections with the numbers CECT 7622, LMG 25482, DSM 23382. In an attempt to understand the role that strain UBF-P1T may play in the degradation of pyrene by the enrichment culture from which it was isolated or in the degradation of fuel by the original marine microbial consortium UBF [30], several hydrocarbons and bacterial metabolites from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were assayed as carbon sources. Strain UBF-1T was not able to grow on the hydrocarbons hexadecane, pyrene or phenanthrene, the pyrene metabolites 4-phenanthrene carboxylic acid and phthalic acid, or the phenanthrene metabolite diphenic acid, typically produced during the degradation of these PAHs by soil bacteria [29]. However, growth was positive for protocatechuic acid, a common product formed from phthalate in the metabolic pathways for the degradation of a number of aromatic hydrocarbons by bacteria, including pyrene. These results, together with the capacity for utilizing several small organic acids, indicated that in the enrichment cultures with pyrene or fuel, strain UBF-P1T did not participate in the initial attack of hydrocarbons, but grew on acidic compounds resulting from the degradation of pyrene or other hydrocarbons by different bacterial populations present in these microbial communities. Description of Breoghania gen. nov Breoghania (Bre.o.gha’ni.a. N.L. fem. n. Breoghania, named after Breoghan, according to Celtic mythology (Leabhar Ghabhala, XII century), the first Celtic king of Gallaecia (actual Galicia), founder of the city of Brigantia (probably A Coruña) that built a tower on the coast from where Eire (Ireland) could be seen. Cells are Gram-negative, aerobic rods, motile by polar flagella. Cells divide by binary fission or asymmetric division. Oxidase and catalase positive. The G + C content of the DNA of the type strain is 63.9 mol%. The respiratory quinone is ubiquinone 10 (Q10). The predominant cellular fatty acid is C18:1 ω7c (75.3%), and other fatty acids found in smaller amounts are C19:0 cycloω8c and C16:0 . The major polar lipids are diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, and phosphatidylcholine. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, UBF-P1T affiliates with the Class Alphaproteobacteria and the type species is B. corrubedonensis. Description of Breoghania corrubedonensis sp. nov. Breoghania corrubedonensis (Co.ru.be.do.nen’sis N.L. fem. adj. corrubedonensis, of or belonging to Corrubedo, northwest Spain, isolated from the beach of Corrubedo, the location where the sand sample used to inoculate the enrichment cultures from which strain UBF-P1T was isolated). In addition to the characteristics reported for the genus, cells are regular, irregular or bulbous rods, motile by one or two subpolar flagella, and approximately 0.6–0.7 ␮m wide and 2–3.5 ␮m long. They reproduce by asymmetric division. On LB ASW, LB 3% NaCl, or Marine Agar, colonies are circular, entire, convex, mucoid, and creamy white in colour. After incubation for 5 days at optimal growth conditions, colonies are approximately 1 mm in diameter. The strain grows at temperatures in the range of 15–40 ◦ C (optimum 30 ◦ C) and at pH 5–8.5. Growth occurs with NaCl concentrations of 1–10%. Hydrolysis of gelatine or aesculin does not occur. Aminopeptidase, arginine dihydrolase, ornithine decarboxylase and urease activities are present. Nitrate is reduced to nitrite. Negative for nitrite reduction, indole production, and H2 S formation. ␤-Glucosidase and ␤-galactosidase are not produced. Starch, DNA or Tween 80 are not degraded. Acid is only weakly produced from l-arabinose. Growth occurs on glucose, arabinose, mannitol, d-sorbitol, adipate, gluconate (w), phenyl acetate, acetate, succinate, malate, pyruvate, casaminoacids (Difco), acetone, and Tween 20. No growth occurs on d-xylose, mannose, maltose, starch, caprate, N-acetyl-glucosamine, citrate, lactate, oxalacetate, propionate or methanol. The fatty acids are C18:1 ω7c (75.3%), C19:0 cyclo ω8c (6.4%), C16:0 (4.4%), C16:1 ω7c and/or C15:0 iso 2-OH (summed feature 3, 2.5%), C18:0 3-OH (2.4%), C18:0 (2.2%), and C20:1 ω9c (1.3%). Other minor (<1%) fatty acids are C14:0 3-OH or C16:1 iso I (summed feature 2), C17:1 ω8c, C17:1 ω6c, and C17:0 . Major polar lipids are diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME), and phosphatidylcholine (PC). The DNA content is 63.9 mol%. The discriminative traits of the species are listed in diagnostic Table 1 and Supplementary Material Table S2. The type strain of the species UBF-P1T has been deposited in three culture collections under the following numbers: CECT 7622, LMG 25482, and DSM 23382. Emended description of the family Cohaesibacteraceae Hwang and Cho 2008 The description of the family was mainly based on the signature sequence and the taxonomic information of the two described members of the type species C. gelatinilyticus [8]. Given the differences between C. gelatinilyticus and B. corrubedonensis type strain sequences, the signature positions given as indicative of the family are no longer valid. For instance, the 16S rRNA gene sequence of B. corrubedonensis does not share the signature positions 194 (G instead of T), 678 (T instead of A), 712 (A instead of T) given for the family [8], nor the 1244 (G instead of A) or 1293 (C instead of T). The signatures found more closely resemble the majority of the other families of the order. In addition, reduction of nitrate is positive. The DNA composition ranges from 52 to 64 mol% G + C. S. Gallego et al. / Systematic and Applied Microbiology 33 (2010) 316–321 Emended description of Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus Hwang and Cho 2008 The description is as proposed by Hwang and Cho [8] with the following modifications: nitrate and nitrite reduction are positive. It does not utilize citrate or N-acetyl-glucosamine. Oxidative acids from sugars are not produced. Aesculin is not hydrolysed. It does not utilize the hydrocarbons hexadecane, pyrene or phenanthrene, nor acetone or methanol for growth. The type strain is C. gelatinilyticus CL-GR15T (=DSM 18289T ). Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the help of Jean Euzéby for the etymology and protologue improvements. This research was funded by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (VEM2004-08-556, CGL2007-64199/BOS). MG is a member of the Xarxa de Referència d’R + D + I en Biotecnologia (XRB), which receives funding from the Generalitat de Catalunya. RRM acknowledges the support given by the Spanish Government with the projects CE-CSD2007-0005 and CLG2009 12651-C02-02, both cofinanced with FEDER support. We are grateful to personnel in the Electron Microscopy Unit of the SCT of the Universitat de Barcelona for technical support. Appendix A. Supplementary data Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.syapm.2010.06.005. References [1] Alm, E.J., Huang, K.H., Price, M.N., Koche, R.P., Keller, K., Dubchak, I.L., Arkin, A.P. (2005) The microbes online web site for comparative genomics. Genome Res. 15, 1015–1022. [2] Castresana, J. (2000) Selection of conserved blocks from multiple alignments for their use in phylogenetic analysis. Mol. Biol. Evol. 17, 540–552. [3] Daniels, L., Handson, R.S., Phillips, J.A. (1994) Chemical analysis. In: Gerhardt, A.P., Murray, R.G.E., Wood, W.A., Krieg, N.R. 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