5 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tablaA Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile, non-sporulating, acid-fast, and rod-shaped bacterium (BFLP-6T), previously isolated from a seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) with tail rot, was studied using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Growth occurred at 15–35 °C (optimum 25 °C), at pH 5.0–10.0 (optimum pH 7.0) and at NaCl concentrations between 0 and 6 % (w/v). The G+C content of DNA was 66.7 mol%. The predominant fatty acids were C18:1 ω9c, C16:0 and C16:1 ω6c. A mycolic acid pattern of alpha-mycolates and keto-mycolates was detected. Analysis of concatenated sequences (16S rRNA, rpoB, ssrA and tuf genes), and chemotaxonomic and phenotypic features indicated that strain BFLP-6T represents a novel species within the genus Mycobacterium, for which the name Mycobacterium hippocampi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BFLP-6T (=DSM 45391T =LMG 25372T)This study was financed by the Spanish Min-
istry of Science and Innovation (Projects CGL2005-05927-C03-01
and CGL2009-08386) and by the Regional Government Xunta de
Galicia (09MDS022402PR). J.L.B. acknowledges receipt of an I3P
postdoctoral contract from the Spanish National Research Council
(CSIC), co-financed by the European Social Fund.Peer reviewe
