Leeuwenhoekiella blandensis sp. nov., a genome-sequenced marine member of the family Flavobacteriaceae

Bacteria in the family Flavobacteriaceae are increasingly recognized to play important roles in the degradation of organic matter during and following algal blooms. A novel heterotrophic, rod-shaped, aerobic, yellow-pigmented and gliding bacterium was isolated from a seawater sample collected in the Bay of Blanes in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Analysis of its 16S rRNA gene sequence, retrieved from the whole-genome sequence, showed that the bacterium was closely related to members of the genus Leeuwenhoekiella within the family Flavobacteriaceae, phylum Bacteroidetes. Phenotypic, genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses supported the creation of a novel species to accommodate this bacterium, for which the name Leeuwenhoekiella blandensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MED 217T (=CECT 7118T=CCUG 51940T). © 2006 IUMS.