Bombella apis sp. nov., an acetic acid bacterium isolated from the midgut of a honey bee.

As part of a study to investigate the microbial diversity in the intestine of Apis mellifera, we isolated strain MRM1T from the midgut. MRM1T was a Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile, non-spore forming and rod-shaped bacteria. Creamy beige-coloured colonies were circular with entire margins in Lactobacilli MRS agar. The strain grew at 25-37 °C (optimum, 30-37 °C) and at a pH range of 4.0 to 9.0 (optimum pH, 7.0-8.5). The strain tolerated 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl (optimal growth occurred in the absence of NaCl). On the basis of the results of a phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences, we determined that MRM1T represents a member of the genus Bombella with the highest sequence similarity to Bombella intestini LMG 28161T (98.8 %). The major quinone was Q10, and dominant fatty acids (>10 %) were C19 : 0cyclo ω8c (33.6 %), C16 : 0 (22.2 %), C18 : 1ω7c (15.9 %) and C14 : 0 (12.5 %). The polar lipid profile of MRM1T included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, one unidentified phospholipid and four unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of MRM1T was 59.5 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, MRM1T represents a novel species of the genus Bombella, for which the name Bombella apis sp. nov. is proposed with the type strain MRM1T (=KCTC 52452T=JCM 31623T).