title: Emendation of the genus Planococcus and transfer of Flavobacterium okeanokoites Zobell and Upham 1944 to the genus Planococcus as Planococcus okeanokoites comb. nov.
abstract: The taxonomic position of Flavobacterium okeanokoites IFO 12536T (T = type strain) was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and chemotaxonomic methods. Phylogenetic evidence derived from a 16S rRNA sequence analysis indicated that F. okeanokoites, which forms rod-shaped cells, belongs to the genus Planococcus, which forms spherical cells. A phylogenetically close relationship was supported by chemotaxonomic characteristics, such as the presence of menaquinone 7 and menaquinone 8 as major isoprenoid quinones, the presence of phosphatidylglycerol, bisphosphatydylglycerol, and phosphatidylethanolamine as cellular polar lipids, and the G + C content of the DNA (46.3 mol%). These data suggest that whether a cell is a rod or a coccus is not a generic criterion. Accordingly, we propose that F. okeanokoites should be transferred to the genus Planococcus and that the description of the genus Planococcus should be emended.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Fermentation, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakane
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yokota
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005417:Flavobacterium / Q000145:classification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S