Rubrimonas cliftonensis gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic bacteriochlorophyll-containing bacterium isolated from a saline lake.

Phenotypic and phylogenetic studies were performed with two strains (OCh 317T and OCh 318; T = type strain) of aerobic chemoheterotrophic bacteriochlorophyll-containing bacteria isolated from water of a saline lake located on the west coast of Australia. Both strains were Gram-negative, short rods and were motile by means of polar flagella. Catalase, oxidase, nitrate reductase, phosphatase and urease were produced. The cells utilized D-glucose, citrate, glycolate, pyruvate and ethanol. Acids were produced from L-arabinose, D-fructose, D-galactose, D-glucose, D-ribose and D-xylose. The strains could grow in media containing 0.5-7.5% NaCl. Bacteriochlorophyll a was synthesized under aerobic conditions. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain OCh 317T represented a new lineage in the alpha-3 group of the class Proteobacteria. Strains OCh 317T and OCh 318 were identified as strains of the same species because of their very similar phenotypic characteristics and their previously described high DNA-DNA homology. Therefore, it was concluded that the two strains should be assigned to a new genus and species, for which the name Rubrimonas cliftonensis is proposed. The type strain is OCh 317T (= JCM 10189T).