Haliea atlantica sp. nov., isolated from seawater, transfer of Haliea mediterranea to Parahaliea gen. nov. as Parahaliea mediterranea comb. nov. and emended description of the genus Haliea.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, oxidase- and catalase-positive, aerobic bacterium, designated strain SM1351T, was isolated from surface seawater of the Atlantic Ocean. This strain grew at 4-45 °C and with 5-90 g NaCl l- 1. It did not reduce nitrate to nitrite and could not hydrolyse starch or DNA. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the strain was affiliated with the genus Haliea in the family Alteromonadaceae, with sequence similarities with the type strains of Haliea salexigens and Haliea mediterranea, the two recognized species of the genus Haliea, of 96.2 and 94.6 %, respectively. The major fatty acids of strain SM1351T were C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH, C17 : 1ω8c, C18 : 1ω7c and C16 : 0 and the major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone Q-8. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain SM1351T was 62 mol%. On the basis of the polyphasic characterization of strain SM1351T in this study, it is considered to represent a novel species in the genus Haliea, for which the name Haliea atlantica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SM1351T ( = CCTCC AB 2014266T = JCM 30304T). Moreover, the transfer of Haliea mediterraneaLucena et al. 2010 to Parahaliea gen. nov. as Parahaliea mediterranea comb. nov. (type strain 7SM29T = CECT 7447T = DSM 21924T) and an emended description of the genus Haliea are also proposed.