Pseudomonas litoralis sp. nov., isolated from Mediterranean seawater

Strains 2SM5T and 2SM6, strictly aerobic chemoorganotrophic gammaproteobacteria, were isolated from Mediterranean Seawater off the coast of Vinaroz, Castellón, Spain, in February of 1990. They were extensively characterized by a polyphasic study that situated them in the genus Pseudomonas. The phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences shows that both strains share 100% of sequence similarity and are closely related to the Pseudomonas pertucinogena clade, with less than 97.3% to any established species, being Pseudomonas xiamenensis its closest relative. Analysis of sequences of three housekeeping genes, rpoB, rpoD and gyrB, further confirmed the phylogenetic assignment of the Mediterranean isolates. Chemotaxonomic traits such as quinone and polar lipids composition also corroborate the placement of strains 2SM5T and 2SM6 in the gammaproteobacteria. Other phenotypic traits, including FAMEs, clearly allow the differentiation of both isolates from other species of Pseudomonas. We therefore conclude that strains 2SM5T and 2SM6 constitute a new species of Pseudomonas, to which the name Pseudomonas litoralis is proposed, being strain 2SM5T (= CECT 7670T = KCTC 23093T) the type strain of the species.