Hongiella mannitolivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., Hongiella halophila sp. nov. and Hongiella ornithinivorans sp. nov., isolated from tidal flat sediment.

Three marine strains of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides group, designated JC2050T, JC2051T and JC2052T, were obtained from a single sediment sample of getbol, the Korean tidal flat. Comparative 16S rDNA sequence studies revealed that the test strains were not closely related to any validly published genera and that these strains were only distantly related to the genus Cyclobacterium (88.7-91.2%). Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the three getbol isolates formed a distinct monophyletic clade within the family Cytophagaceae. Physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic data also indicated that these three getbol isolates differed significantly from members of other genera and were sufficiently different from each other to be recognized as separate species. On the basis of polyphasic evidence, a new genus, Hongiella gen. nov., is proposed, with three novel species, Hongiella mannitolivorans sp. nov. (type strain JC2050T=IMSNU 14012T=DSM 15301T), Hongiella halophila sp. nov. (type strain JC2051T=IMSNU 14013T=DSM 15292T) and Hongiella ornithinivorans sp. nov. (type strain JC2052T=IMSNU 14014T=DSM 15282T). Hongiella mannitolivorans is the type species of the genus.