Herminiimonas fonticola gen. nov., sp. nov., a Betaproteobacterium isolated from a source of bottled mineral water

Several yellowish-pigmented bacteria with an optimum growth temperature of about 30 °C, were recovered from the source (borehole) of bottled mineral water in the Serra da Estrela in Eastern Portugal. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strains S-94T, S-97, S-99 and S-92 indicated that these organisms represent a new species of the Betaproteobacteria that is not closely related to any other known species. The major fatty acids of the strains are 16:1 ω7c and 16:0. Ubiquinone 8 is the major respiratory quinone. The new isolates are strictly organotrophic and aerobic. The new strains only assimilated organic acids, glycine and alanine. Casamino acids and a mixture of all natural amino acids are not used as sole carbon and nitrogen sources; these are used as nitrogen source in the presence of organic acids. On the basis of the phylogenetic analyses, physiological and biochemical characteristics, we are of the opinion that strains S-94T, S-97, S-99 and S-92 represent a new species of a novel genus for which we propose the name Herminiimonas fonticola gen. nov., sp. nov.