Sphingomonas crocodyli sp. nov., isolated from a crocodile pond.

Strain CCP-7, isolated from a freshwater pond in Taiwan, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomy approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and coding sequences of 92 protein clusters indicated that strain CCP-7 formed a phylogenetic lineage in the genus Sphingomonas. Strain CCP-7 was most closely related to Sphingomonas starnbergensis 382 and Sphingomonas naphthae DKC-5-1 with 96.2 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Strain CCP-7 showed 65.5-76.7 % average nucleotide identity and 20.2-22.5 % digital DNA-DNA hybridization identity with the strains of other related Sphingomonas species. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped and formed light orange-coloured colonies. Optimal growth occurred at 30 °C, pH 6 and in the absence of NaCl. The major fatty acid of strain CCP-7 was C18 : 1ω7c. The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, three uncharacterized sphingoglycolipids, two uncharacterized phospholipids and six uncharacterized lipids. The predominant polyamine was homospermidine. The only isoprenoid quinone was Q-10. Genomic DNA G+C content of strain CCP-7 was 64.5 %. On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic properties and phylogenetic inference, strain CCP-7 should be classified in a novel species of the genus Sphingomonas, for which the name Sphingomonas crocodyli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CCP-7 (=BCRC 81096=LMG 30311=KCTC 62190).