Comprehensive genome analysis of five novel flavobacteria: Flavobacterium piscisymbiosum sp. nov., Flavobacterium pisciphilum sp. nov., Flavobacterium flavipigmentatum sp. nov., Flavobacterium lipolyticum sp. nov. and Flavobacterium cupriresistens sp. nov.

Eight isolates were obtained through a study on culture-dependent bacteria from fish farms and identified as members of the genus Flavobacterium based on pairwise analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences. The highest pairwise identity values were calculated as 98.8 % for strain F-30  and Flavobacterium bizetiae, 99.0 % for strain F-65  and Flavobacterium branchiarum, 98.7 % for strain F-126  and Flavobacterium tructae, 98.2 % for strain F-323  and Flavobacterium cupreum while 99.7 % identity level was detected for strain F-70  and Flavobacterium geliluteum. In addition, strains F-33, Fl-77, and F-70  shared 100 % identical 16S rRNA genes, while strains F-323  and Fl-318 showed 99.9 % identity. A polyphasic approach including comparative analysis of whole-genome data was employed to ascertain the taxonomic provenance of the strains. In addition to the morphological, physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic characteristics of the strains, the overall genome-relatedness indices of dDDH and ANI below the established thresholds confirmed the classification of the strains as five novel species within the genus Flavobacterium. The comprehensive genome analyses of the strains were also conducted to determine the biosynthetic gene clusters, virulence features and ecological distribution patterns. Based on the polyphasic characterisations, including comparative genome analyses, it is concluded that strains F-30 , F-65 , F-70 , F126 and F-323  represent five novel species within the genus Flavobacterium for which Flavobacterium piscisymbiosum sp. nov. F-30  (=JCM 34194  = KCTC 82254 ), Flavobacterium pisciphilum sp. nov. F-65  (=JCM 34197  = KCTC 82257 ), Flavobacterium flavipigmentatum sp. nov. F-70  (Fl-33 = Fl-77 = JCM 34198  = KCTC 82258 ), Flavobacterium lipolyticum sp. nov. F-126  (JCM 34199  = KCTC 82259 ) and Flavobacterium cupriresistens sp. nov. F-323  (Fl-318 = JCM 34200  = KCTC 82260 ), are proposed.