Maribacter lutimaris sp nov., isolated from marine sediment

A Gram-staining-negative, moderately halophilic and strictly aerobic bacterium, designated strain KJ4(T), was isolated from marine sediment at Gangjin in South Korea. Cells were catalaseand oxidase-positive long rods with gliding motility. Growth of strain KJ4(T) was observed at 4-37 degrees C (optimum, 15-25 degrees C), at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0-8.5) and in the presence of 1.0-7.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2.0-5.0 %). Menaquinone 6 (MK-6) was the only isoprenoid quinone detected and iso-C-15 : 0, iso-C-17 : 0 3-OH, iso-C-15 : 1 G and summed feature 3 (comprising C-16 : 1 omega 7c and/or C-16 : 1 omega 6c) were the major cellular fatty acids. The polar lipids of strain KJ4(T) consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid and five unidentified lipids. The G+ C content of the genomic DNA was 38.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain KJ4(T) formed a distinct phylogenetic lineage within the genus Maribacter. Strain KJ4(T) was most closely related to Maribacter orientalis KMM 3947(T) with 97.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular features, strain KJ4(T) clearly represents a novel species of the genus Maribacter, for which the name Maribacter lutimaris sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KJ4(T) (=KACC 16438(T) =JCM 31154(T)).