Vibrio barjaei sp. nov., a new species of the Mediterranei clade isolated in a shellfish hatchery.

Seven isolates were obtained from different culture stages of carpet shell clam (Ruditapes decussatus) reared in a bivalve hatchery (Galicia, NW Spain). Three groups were differentiated by genotyping techniques and phenotypic profiles and representative trains were selected to further taxonomic studies. These strains were studied by a polyphasic approach and in basis of the phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated sequences of the five housekeeping genes ftsZ, gyrB, pyrH, recA and rpoA formed a tight group into the Mediterranei clade of the genus Vibrio. Percentages of genomic resemblance, including average nucleotide identity, in silico genome-to-genome comparison and wet DNA-DNA hybridization between the type strain and the closest relatives Vibrio mediterranei and Vibrio thalassae were below of the proposed boundaries for the definition of species. The novel isolates could be also differentiated from the related taxa on the basis of several phenotypic traits and fatty acid profiles. Results obtained support the description of a novel species into the Mediterranei clade, for which the name Vibrio barjaei sp. nov. is proposed, with strain 3062 (=CECT 9090=CAIM 1921T=LMG 29358) as the type strain.