Starkeya nomas sp. nov., a prosthecate and budding bacterium isolated from an immunocompromized patient

Strain HF14-78462T is an environmental bacterium found in clinical samples from an immunocompromized patient in 2014 at aerobic, non- spore forming and non- motile small rods which formed mucous and whitish- translucent colonies when incubated at 20-36 degrees C. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA genes and the whole genomes of closest sequenced relatives confirmed that strain HF14- 78462T is affiliated with the genus Starkeya. The strain was oxidase, catalase and urease positive; but indole, lysine decarboxylase, ornithine decarboxylase and DNase negative, did not produce H2S and was able to utilize a wide variety of carbon sources including acetamide, adonitol, amygdalin, iota- arabinose, citric acid, glucose, mannitol and melibiose. Unlike Starkeya novella and Starkeya koreensis, strain HF14- 78462T failed to grow in thiosulphate- oxidizing media and had a narrower temperature growth range. Its genome was characterized by a size of 4.83 Mbp and a C+G content of 67.75 mol%. Major fatty acids were C18:1 omega 7c, cyclo C19: 0 and C16:0, its polar acids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and an aminophospholipid; while the ubiquinones were Q9 (1.8 %) and Q10 (98.2 %). Digital DNA-DNA hybridization values were 41 and 41.4 against S. novella and S. koreensis, respectively, while average nucleotide identity values were around 84 %. Phenotypic, average nucleotide identity and phylogenomic comparative studies suggest that strain HF14- 78462T is a new representative of the genus Starkeya and the name Starkeya nomas sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HF14- 78462T (=CECT 30124T=LMG 31874T).