Aureliella helgolandensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel Planctomycete isolated from a jellyfish at the shore of the island Helgoland

A novel planctomycetal strain, designated Q31a(T), was isolated from a jellyfish at the shore of the island Helgoland in the North Sea. The strain forms lucid white colonies on solid medium and displays typical characteristics of planctomycetal strains, such as division by budding, formation of rosettes, presence of crateriform structures, extracellular matrix or fibre and a holdfast structure. Q31a(T) is mesophilic (temperature optimum 27 °C), neutrophilic (pH optimum 7.5), aerobic and heterotrophic. A maximal growth rate of 0.017 h(− 1) (generation time of 41 h) was observed. Q31a(T) has a genome size of 8.44 Mb and a G + C content of 55.3%. Phylogenetically, the strain represents a novel genus and species in the recently introduced family Pirellulaceae, order Pirellulales, class Planctomycetia. We propose the name Aureliella helgolandensis gen. nov., sp. nov. for the novel species, represented by Q31a(T) (= DSM 103537(T) = LMG 29700(T)) as the type strain.