Genome-Based Reclassification of [Bizionia] algoritergicola Bowman and Nichols 2005 as Algorimicrobium algoritergicola gen. nov., comb. nov. and description of Algorimicrobium bowmanii sp. nov.

The genus <i>Bizionia</i>, a member of the <i>Bacteroidota</i> phylum, is considered a polyphyletic taxonomic group requiring a phylogenetic revision of its members. A novel strain 041-53-Ur-6^T was isolated from the cavity fluid of the sea urchin <i>Strongylocentrotus intermedius</i> from the Sea of Okhotsk. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that 041-53-Ur-6^T belongs to the family <i>Flavobacteriaceae</i>, and its closest neighbor is [<i>Bizionia</i>] <i>algoritergicola</i> with 97.5% sequence similarity. Phylogenomic analysis confirmed the phylogenetic heterogeneity of the genus <i>Bizionia</i> and the clear separation of the genera "<i>Algorimicrobium</i>" and <i>Hanstruepera</i>. The inter-genus AAI values between them were 74.0-76.4%, which is slightly lower than the inter-species AAI values observed for each genus. The strain 041-53-Ur-6^T (= KMM 8389^T) formed a separated branch within the [<i>B.</i>] <i>algoritergicola</i> clade, demonstrating the highest ANI/AAI values of 80.1/81.0% with the strain [<i>B.</i>] <i>algoritergicola</i> APA-1^T. The dDDH values between strain KMM 8389^T and representatives of the genus "<i>Algorimicrobium</i>" ranged from 22.6% to 26.7%. Major fatty acids were iso-C_15:1<i>ω10c</i>, iso-C_15:0 and iso-C_15:0 Δ2-OH. The polar lipids included a phosphatidylethanolamine, a phosphatidylglycerol, five unidentified lipids, two unidentified aminolipids, a phosphatidylcholine, and an unidentified aminophospholipid. The genome KMM 8389^T is a circular chromosome of 3,031,910 bp in size with a DNA G + C content of 33.5%. It comprises 2702 protein-coding genes and four <i>rrn</i> operons. Functional genomic analysis indicated the potential of KMM 8389^T for degrading starch, glycogen, and alginate due to the presence of genes encoding GH13, GH31, and GH65. Furthermore, KMM 8389^T possessed PLs 6, 7, 12, and 17, specialized for alginate, confirming the potential adaptation of this strain to algal substrates and surfaces. On the basis of the results of genotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phenotypic analyses, it is clear that the strain KMM 8389^T represents a novel species with [<i>B</i>.] <i>algoritergicola</i>, [<i>B.</i>] <i>argentinensis</i>, [<i>B.</i>] <i>echini</i>, [<i>B.</i>] <i>hallyeonensis</i>, [<i>B.</i>] <i>myxarmorum</i>, [<i>B.</i>] <i>psychrotolerans</i>, and [<i>B.</i>] <i>sediminis</i> as the nearest neighbors. These taxa are classified in a single novel genus, as <i>Algorimicrobium algoritergicola</i> gen. nov., comb. nov., <i>A</i>. <i>argentinensis</i> comb. nov., <i>A</i>. <i>echini</i> comb. nov., <i>A</i>. <i>hallyeonensis</i> comb. nov., <i>A</i>. <i>myxarmorum</i> comb. nov., <i>A</i>. <i>psychrotolerans</i> comb. nov., <i>A</i>. <i>sediminis</i> comb. nov., and <i>Algorimicrobium bowmanii</i> sp. nov. 041-53-Ur-6^T (=KMM 8389^T, =KCTC 72011^T).