Alteromonas halophila sp. nov., a new moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from a sea anemone

• Published in: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 2009-10, Vol.96 (3), p.259-266
• Main Authors: Chen, Yi-Guang, Xiao, Huai-Dong, Tang, Shu-Kun, Zhang, Yu-Qin, Borrathybay, Entomack, Cui, Xiao-Long, Li, Wen-Jun, Liu, Yan-Qi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alteromonas; Alteromonas - classification; Alteromonas - genetics; Alteromonas - isolation & purification; Alteromonas - metabolism; Alteromonas halophila; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Anthopleura xanthogrammica; Aquatic life; Bacteria; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; China; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Fatty acids; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Halophila; Life Sciences; Lipids; Marine; Medical Microbiology; Microbial ecology; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Original Paper; Phylogeny; Plant Sciences; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Sea Anemones - microbiology; Seawater - microbiology; Sodium Chloride - metabolism; Soil Science & Conservation; Studies; Systematics; Various environments (extraatmospheric space, air, water)
• ISSN: 0003-6072; 1572-9699
• DOI: 10.1007/s10482-009-9341-8

A pale yellow-colored, moderately halophilic, Gram-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, non-sporulating, rod-shaped, motile, aerobic bacterium, designated strain JSM 073008T, was isolated from a sea anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica) collected from Naozhou Island, Leizhou Bay, South China Sea. The organism was able to grow with 1-20% (w/v) total salts (optimum, 5-10%), at pH 6.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.5) and 10-40°C (optimum, 25-30°C). The major cellular fatty acids were C₁₆:₀, C₁₆:₁ ω7c/iso-C₁₅:₀ 2-OH and C₁₈:₁ ω7c. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified phospholipid. The predominant respiratory quinone was Q-8 and the genomic DNA G + C content was 47.5 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain JSM 073008T should be assigned to the genus Alteromonas, being most closely related to Alteromonas hispanica F-32T (sequence similarity 96.9%), followed by Alteromonas genovensis LMG 24078T (96.6%) and Alteromonas litorea TF-22T (96.4%). The sequence similarities between the novel isolate and the type strains of other recognized Alteromonas species ranged from 95.9% (with Alteromonas stellipolaris ANT 69aT) to 94.5% (with Alteromonas simiduii BCRC 17572T). The combination of phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic data supported the view that strain JSM 073008T represents a new species of the genus Alteromonas, for which the name Alteromonas halophila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JSM 073008T (=CCTCC AA 207035T = KCTC 22164T).