Bacillus galliciensis sp. nov., isolated from faeces of wild seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus)

Abstract

A Gram-positive-staining, motile, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium (BFLP-1T) was isolated from faeces of wild long-snouted seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus) captured in north-west Spain (Toralla, Galicia). Strain BFLP-1T grew at 10–30 °C and pH 5.5–9 (optimally at 20 °C and pH 7.2) and with 0–7 % (w/v) NaCl (optimally with 2 % NaCl). The G+C content of the DNA was 48.1 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain BFLP-1T was a member of the genus Bacillus and was most closely related to Bacillus herbersteinensis D-1,5aT (96.6 %), B. shackletonii LMG 18435T (96.0 %) and B. isabeliae CVS-8T (95.9 %). Chemotaxonomic data (peptidoglycan type, meso-diaminopimelic acid; major menaquinone, MK-7; predominant fatty acids, anteiso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0 and C16 : 1 ω11c; major polar lipids, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and an unknown aminoglycophospholipid) supported the affiliation of strain BFLP-1T to the genus Bacillus. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences and chemotaxonomic and phenotypic features indicated that strain BFLP-1T represents a novel species within the genus Bacillus, for which the name Bacillus galliciensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BFLP-1T (=DSM 21539T =LMG 24668T).