<i>Holzapfeliella</i> sp. JNUCC 72 Isolated from <i>Prunus mume</i> Flowers in Jeju Island: Genomic Insights into a Novel Floral Lactic Acid Bacterium

A bacterial strain, designated Holzapfeliella sp.JNUCC 72 (isolate M15), was isolated from the flowers of Prunus mume (Korean apricot) collected in April 2024 at Donam-ro, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea (33.491538N, 126.527221E).The flowers were sampled during full bloom, a period associated with high microbial activity due to nectar production and pollinator visitation.The strain was enriched and isolated on de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) agar under microaerophilic conditions at 30 for 48 h.Whole-genome sequencing was performed by Macrogen Inc. (Republic of Korea) using a hybrid approach combining long-read PacBio Sequel II and short-read Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platforms.De novo assembly was conducted via SMRT Link v13.1.0,followed by error correction with Pilon and validation using BUSCO v5.1.3.The final assembly consisted of six contigs with a total length of 1,396,371 bp, an N50 of 1,179,608 bp, and a G+C content of 35.33%.Genome completeness was estimated at 97.6% based on BUSCO analysis against the Lactobacillales dataset, indicating a high-quality, near-complete genome.Genome annotation was carried out using Prokka v1.14.6, which predicted 1,387 genes including 1,320 CDS, 53 tRNAs, 13 rRNAs, and 1 tmRNA.No pseudogene pre-A Gram-positive, rod-shaped, facultatively heterofermentative lactic acid bacterium, Holzapfeliella sp.JNUCC 72 (isolate M15), was isolated from Prunus mume flowers in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea.Hybrid PacBio and Illumina sequencing produced a 1.39 Mb genome (35.3% G+C, 1,336 CDSs, 52 tRNAs, 13 rRNAs).Phylogenomic analyses (OrthoANIu 88.18%, dDDH 6 68.3%) with Holzapfeliella floricola JCM 16512 T indicate a novel genomic species.Functional annotation showed enrichment in carbohydrate metabolism and ribosomal biogenesis, supporting adaptation to sugar-rich floral niches.