Paracoccus carotinifaciens sp. nov., a new aerobic Gram-negative astaxanthin-producing bacterium

The strain E-396^T, isolated from soil, was Gram-negative, aerobic, orangepigmented, rod-shaped, motile by peritrichous flagella and astaxanthin-producing. This organism produced carotenoids, mainly astaxanthin, and did not produce bacteriochlorophyll. The ubiquinone system was Q-10. Analysis of the 16S rRNA sequence of strain E-396^Tshowed it to be a member of the α-3 subclass of the Proteobacteria, forming a cluster with the species of the genus Paracoccus. On the basis of the production of orange pigments and motility by peritrichous flagella, together with DNA-DNA reassociation data, it is concluded that the new isolate should be classified into a new species of the genus Paracoccus, Paracoccus carotinifaciens sp. nov. The type strain is E-396^T(= IFO 16121^T).