Sneathiella chinensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel marine alphaproteobacterium isolated from coastal sediment in Qingdao, China.

The taxonomic position of strain LMG 23452(T), which was isolated from coastal sediment from an aquaculture site near Qingdao, China, in 2000, was determined. Strain LMG 23452(T) comprised Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, motile rods and was found to be a halotolerant, aerobic, chemoheterotroph that produces catalase and oxidase. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain LMG 23452(T) shared approximately 89 % sequence similarity with members of the genera Devosia, Hyphomonas, Ensifer and Chelatococcus, which belong to two different orders within the Alphaproteobacteria.