Spongitalea numazuensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new marine bacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae isolated from an unidentified marine sponge.

Polyphasic taxonomic investigation was conducted on a strictly aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile, pale-yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped strain designated HJ24(T) which was isolated from an unidentified orange-colored marine sponge. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the novel isolate could be affiliated with the family Flavobacteriaceae of the phylum Bacteroidetes and that it showed highest sequence similarity (88.6%) with Pseudozobellia thermophila KMM 3531(T). The novel isolate is phenotypically and physiologically different from other related genera. The DNA G+C contents were 41 mol%, MK-6 was the major menaquinone and iso-C15:0, iso-C15:1 and iso-C17:0 3-OH were the predominant fatty acids. On the basis of polyphasic taxonomic studies, it was concluded that the novel strain represents a new genus and a novel species of the family Flavobacteriaceae. We propose the name Spongitalea numazuensis gen. nov., sp. nov. for this strain; its type strain is HJ24(T) (= DSM 21243(T)).