Reclassification of Vibrio fischeri, Vibrio logei, Vibrio salmonicida and Vibrio wodanis as Aliivibrio fischeri gen. nov., comb. nov., Aliivibrio logei comb. nov., Aliivibrio salmonicida comb. nov. and Aliivibrio wodanis comb. nov.

Four closely related species, Vibrio fischeri, Vibrio logei, Vibrio salmonicida and Vibrio wodanis, form a clade within the family Vibrionaceae; the taxonomic status and phylogenetic position of this clade have remained ambiguous for many years. To resolve this ambiguity, we tested these species against other species of the Vibrionaceae for phylogenetic and phenotypic differences. Sequence identities for the 16S rRNA gene were > or =97.