Bhargavaea ullalensis sp. nov., isolated from coastal sand

A Gram-positive-staining, aerobic, non-endospore-forming bacterium, isolated from Ullal coastal sand, Mangalore, Karnataka, India, on marine agar 2216, was studied in detail for its taxonomic position. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity comparisons, strain ZMA 19T was grouped into the genus Bhargavaea with high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to all currently described species of the genus Bhargavaea , Bhargavaea cecembensis (99.3 %), Bhargavaea beijingensis (98.8 %) and Bhargavaea ginsengi (98.6 %). GyrB amino acid sequence-based analysis supported the phylogenetic position and also distinguished strain ZMA 19T from the three other species of the genus Bhargavaea . Amino acid sequence similarities were only 85.6 to 89.5 % between strain ZMA 19T and the type strains of members of the genus Bhargavaea , which shared higher similarities among each other (93.0 to 96.2 %). The chemotaxonomic characterization supported the allocation of the novel strain to the genus Bhargavaea . The major menaquinone was MK-8. The polar lipid profile contained predominantly diphosphatidylglycerol and moderate amounts of phosphatidylglycerol. The diagnostic peptidoglycan diamino acid was lysine and the polyamine pattern contained spermidine and spermine. The major fatty acids were iso- and anteiso-branched fatty acids. DNA–DNA hybridization with the types strains Bhargavaea cecembensis LMG 24411T, Bhargavaea beijingensis DSM 19037T and Bhargavaea ginsengi DSM 19038T resulted in values (reciprocal values in parentheses) of 26 % (29 %), 18 % (15 %) and 21 % (12 %), respectively. The results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed phenotypic differentiation of strain ZMA 19T from all other species of the genus Bhargavaea . Thus, ZMA 19T represents a novel species of this genus, for which the name Bhargavaea ullalensis sp. nov. is proposed, with ZMA 19T ( = LMG 27071T  = CCM 8429T) as the type strain.