Chryseobacterium arothri sp. nov., isolated from the kidneys of a pufferfish.

A Gram-negative, non-flagellated, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain P2K6(T), was isolated from the kidneys of a pufferfish (Arothron hispidus) caught off the coast of Kaneohe Bay, O'ahu, Hawai'i. The strain formed yellowish colonies when grown on marine agar. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain P2K6(T) was related most closely to members of the genus Chryseobacterium. Levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain P2K6(T) and the type strains of recognized species of the genus Chryseobacterium were 94-96.6%, suggesting that the strain represents a novel species within this genus. The DNA G+C content of strain P2K6(T) was 36.5 mol%, the dominant fatty acids were iso-C(15:0) (35.3%) and iso-C(17:0) 3-OH (14.9%), and the most abundant quinone was menaquinone MK6. On the basis of the data from this polyphasic study, it is suggested that strain P2K6(T) represents a novel species of the genus Chryseobacterium, for which the name Chryseobacterium arothri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is P2K6(T) (=CIP 109575(T)=DSM 19326(T)).