Paracoccus alcaliphilus sp. nov., an Alkaliphilic and Facultatively Methylotrophic Bacterium

Alkaliphilic facultatively methanol-utilizing bacteria were investigated with respect to their phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics. These bacteria were gram-negative, nonsporeforming, nonmotile, coccoid or short rod-shaped organisms, grew at pH 7.0 to 9.5, and did not grow below pH 6.5 and above pH 10.0. The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) base composition was 64 to 66 mol% guanine plus cytosine. These bacteria resemble Paracoccus denitrificans with respect to morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics, but are distinguished from P. denitrificans by physiological characteristics and DNA-DNA homology. These methanol-utilizing bacteria are described as a new species, Paracoccus alcaliphilus Urakami, Tamaoka, Suzuki, and Komagata. The type strain of P. alcaliphilus sp. nov. is strain TK 1015 (= JCM 7364).