Microbulbifer maritimus sp. nov., isolated from an intertidal sediment from the Yellow Sea, Korea

Abstract

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming, slightly halophilic bacterium (strain TF-17^T) was isolated from an intertidal sediment from the Yellow Sea, Korea. Pigment of strain TF-17^T was similar to that of Microbulbifer elongatus, but different from those of Microbulbifer hydrolyticus and Microbulbifer salipaludis. Strain TF-17^T was distinguishable from M. elongatus by some phenotypic properties, including motility, optimal growth temperature and others. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences showed that strain TF-17^T clustered with the type strains of the three Microbulbifer species with validly published names. Strain TF-17^T exhibited 16S rDNA sequence similarity levels of 95·1–95·7 % to the type strains of the three Microbulbifer species. The predominant respiratory lipoquinone found in strain TF-17^T was ubiquinone-8. The major fatty acid was iso-C_15 : 0 and significant amounts of iso-C_11 : 0 3-OH and iso-C_17 : 1 ω9c were also present. The DNA G+C content of strain TF-17^T was 59·9 mol%. Levels of DNA–DNA relatedness between strain TF-17^T and the type strains of the three Microbulbifer species were in the range 10·0–13·0 %. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic data and genotypic distinctiveness, strain TF-17^T (=KCCM 41774^T=JCM 12187^T) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Microbulbifer, Microbulbifer maritimus sp. nov.