AUTHOR=Breider Sven , Scheuner Carmen , Schumann Peter , Fiebig Anne , Petersen Jörn , Pradella Silke , Klenk Hans-Peter , Brinkhoff Thorsten , Göker Markus 

TITLE=Genome-scale data suggest reclassifications in the Leisingera-Phaeobacter cluster including proposals for Sedimentitalea gen. nov. and Pseudophaeobacter gen. nov.

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00416

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2014.00416

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Earlier phylogenetic analyses of the marine <italic>Rhodobacteraceae</italic> (class <italic>Alphaproteobacteria</italic>) genera <italic>Leisingera</italic> and <italic>Phaeobacter</italic> indicated that neither genus might be monophyletic. We here used phylogenetic reconstruction from genome-scale data, MALDI-TOF mass-spectrometry analysis and a re-assessment of the phenotypic data from the literature to settle this matter, aiming at a reclassification of the two genera. Neither <italic>Phaeobacter</italic> nor <italic>Leisingera</italic> formed a clade in any of the phylogenetic analyses conducted. Rather, smaller monophyletic assemblages emerged, which were phenotypically more homogeneous, too. We thus propose the reclassification of <italic>Leisingera nanhaiensis</italic> as the type species of a new genus as <italic>Sedimentitalea nanhaiensis</italic> gen. nov., comb. nov., the reclassification of <italic>Phaeobacter arcticus</italic> and <italic>Phaeobacter leonis</italic> as <italic>Pseudophaeobacter arcticus</italic> gen. nov., comb. nov. and <italic>Pseudophaeobacter leonis</italic> comb. nov., and the reclassification of <italic>Phaeobacter aquaemixtae, Phaeobacter caeruleus</italic>, and <italic>Phaeobacter daeponensis</italic> as <italic>Leisingera aquaemixtae</italic> comb. nov., <italic>Leisingera caerulea</italic> comb. nov., and <italic>Leisingera daeponensis</italic> comb. nov. The genera <italic>Phaeobacter</italic> and <italic>Leisingera</italic> are accordingly emended.</p>