Tautonia plasticadhaerens sp. nov., a novel species in the family Isosphaeraceae isolated from an alga in a hydrothermal area of the Eolian Archipelago

A novel planctomycetal strain, designated ElP(T), was isolated from an alga in the shallow hydrothermal vent system close to Panarea Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Cells of strain ElP(T) are spherical, form pink colonies and display typical planctomycetal characteristics including division by budding and presence of crateriform structures. Strain ElP(T) has a mesophilic (optimum at 30 °C) and neutrophilic (optimum at pH 7.5) growth profile, is aerobic and heterotrophic. It reaches a generation time of 29 h (µ(max) = 0.024 h(−1)). The strain has a genome size of 9.40 Mb with a G + C content of 71.1% and harbours five plasmids, the highest number observed in the phylum Planctomycetes thus far. Phylogenetically, the strain represents a novel species of the recently described genus Tautonia in the family Isosphaeraceae. A characteristic feature of the strain is its tendency to attach strongly to a range of plastic surfaces. We thus propose the name Tautonia plasticadhaerens sp. nov. for the novel species, represented by the type strain ElP(T) (DSM 101012(T) = LMG 29141(T)).