Marinirhabdus Gelatinilytica Gen. Nov., Sp. Nov., Isolated from Seawater

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and slightly halophilic bacterium was isolated from the South China Sea, and was subjected to characterization using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of the isolate, designated NH83(T), were non-motile and rod-shaped. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain NH83(T) was closely related to members of the genera Aureisphaera (with sequence similarity of 92.9 %), Jejudonia (92.8 %), Marixanthomonas (92.6 %), Altuibacter (92.6 %), Ulvibacter (91.5-91.9 %), Gilvibacter (91.8 %) and Aequorivita (89.6-91.2 %), all of which belong to the family Flavobacteriaceae. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that it represented an independent lineage and its closest relatives belonged to the genus Marixanthomonas. The sole respiratory quinone was MK-6. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, two aminolipids, one aminophospholipid and one unidentified lipid. The principal fatty acids were branched fatty acids, including iso-C-15 : 0, iso-C-17 : 0 3-OH, iso-C-16 (: 0), iso-C-15 : 1 G and summed feature 3 (iso-C-15 : 0 2-OH and/or C-16 : 1 omega 7c). The genomic DNA G+C content was 41.0 mol%. Strain NH83(T) was positive for hydrolysis of aesculin, gelatin and Tween 60. Phylogenetic distinctiveness and chemotaxonomic differences, together with differential phenotypic properties, revealed that strain NH83(T) could be differentiated from closely related genera. Therefore, it is proposed that strain NH83(T) represents a novel species in a new genus, for which the name Marinirhabdus gelatinilytica gen. nov., sp. nov. (type strain NH83(T) =CGMCC 1.15462(T) =DSM 101478(T)) is proposed.