Description of Deleya gen. nov. Created to Accommodate the Marine Species Alcaligenes aestus, A. pacificus, A. cupidus, A. venustus, and Pseudomonas marina

Abstract

Recent investigations of the evolutionary relationships of marine species assigned to the genera Alcaligenes (Alcaligenes aestus, Alcaligenes pacificus, Alcaligenes cupidus, and Alcaligenes venustus) and Pseudomonas (Pseudomonas marina) are reviewed. Data obtained by a number of different methods indicate that these five species are part of a single evolutionary lineage distinct from their close relatives, the fluorescent pseudomonads, and unrelated to the type species of Alcaligenes (Alcaligenes faecalis). Consequently, all five species are transferred to a new genus, Deleya, with Deleya aesta designated as the type species. The phenotype properties of D. aesta, Deleya pacifica, Deleya cupida, Deleya venusta, and Deleya marina are presented, together with the distinguishing traits of these organisms.