title: Aurantimonas coralicida gen. nov., sp. nov., the causative agent of white plague type II on Caribbean scleractinian corals.
abstract: A bacterium previously isolated from a diseased colony of the scleractinian coral Dichocoenia stokesi (common name elliptical star coral) was subjected to a detailed polyphasic taxonomic characterization. The isolate, designated WP1T, was halophilic and strictly aerobic and formed golden-orange-pigmented colonies after prolonged incubation. Cells of WP1T were gram-negative, rod-shaped and showed a characteristic branching rod morphology. Chemotaxonomically, WP1T was characterized by having Q-10 as the major respiratory lipoquinone and sym-homospermidine as the main component of the cellular polyamine content. The predominant constituent in the cellular fatty acid profile was C18:1 omega7c, along with C19:0 cyclo omega8c and C16:0. Other fatty acids present in smaller amounts were C17:0, C18:0, C16:1 omega7c, C20:1 omega7c and C18:1 2-OH. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine. Minor amounts of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine and phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine were present. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 66.3 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that WP1T represents a separate subline of descent within the order 'Rhizobiales' of the 'Alphaproteobacteria'. The new line of descent falls within the group of families that includes the Rhizobiaceae, Bartonellaceae, Brucellaceae and 'Phyllobacteriaceae', with no particular relative within this group. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to all established taxa within this group was not higher than 92.0% (to Mesorhizobium mediterraneum). To accommodate this emerging coral pathogen, the creation of a new genus and species is proposed, Aurantimonas coralicida gen. nov., sp. nov. (type strain WP1T = CIP 107386T = DSM 14790T).
authors.affiliation: Institut für Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Universität Wien, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ewald B M
authors.initials: EBM
authors.lastname: Denner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Geology, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Garriet W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Institut für Bakteriologie, Mykologie und Hygiene, Veterinärmedizinische Universität, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.|Institut für Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Universität Wien, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Hans-Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Busse
authors.affiliation: DSMZ - Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schumann
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Abteilung Ultrastrukturforschung, Universität Wien, A-1090 Wien, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Narzt
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Shawn W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Polson
authors.affiliation: Institut für Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Universität Wien, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lubitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
authors.forename: Laurie L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D020561:Alphaproteobacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000382:microbiology*; D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S