Fimbriiglobus ruber gen. nov., sp nov., a Gemmata-like planctomycete from Sphagnum peat bog and the proposal of Gemmataceae fam. nov.

An aerobic, budding, dark pink to red-pigmented bacterium was isolated from an acidic boreal Sphagnum peat bog and designated strain SP5(T). Cells of this strain were non-motile spheres that were uniformly covered with crateriform pits and fimbria, and tended to form aggregates during growth in liquid media. Strain SP5(T) was capable of growth between pH 4.0 and pH 6.8 (optimum at pH 5.5-6.0) and at temperatures between 10 and 30 C-o (optimum at 20-25 C-o). The preferred growth substrates were sugars and some heteropolysaccharides. The major fatty acids were C-20 : 1 omega 9c, C-16 : 1 omega 9c and C-16 : 0, and the major polar lipid was trimethylornithine. Cells contained also significant amounts of bound (w-1) OH-C-30 : 1 fatty acid. The quinone was menaquinone-6, and the G+C content of the DNA was 60.7 mol%. Strain SP5(T) was a member of the order Planctomycetales and belonged to the phylogenetic lineage defined by the genus Gemmata. It displayed 88 and 89% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Gemmata obscuriglobusUQM 2246(T) and 'Gemmata massiliana' IIL30, 89% to Zavarzinella formosa A10(T) and 86% to Telmatocola sphagniphila SP2(T). However, strain SP5(T) differed from members of these genera by cell morphology, substrate utilization pattern and fatty acid composition. Based on these data, the novel isolate should be considered as representing a novel species of a new genus of planctomycetes, for which the name Fimbriiglobus ruber gen. nov., sp. nov, is proposed. The type strain is SP5 (T) (= LMG 29572(T)=VKM B-3045(T)). We also suggest the establishment of a novel family, Gemmataceaefam. nov., which includes the phylogenetically related genera Gemmata, Zavarzinella, Telmatocola and Fimbriiglobus.