Kocuria salsicia sp. nov., isolated from salt-fermented seafood

Abstract

Strain 104T was isolated from a traditional salt-fermented seafood in Korea. It was a Gram-positive, non-motile, coccus-shaped bacterium. It formed lemon-yellow, opaque colonies that were circular with entire margins. Optimal growth occurred at 30-37 °C, pH 7-8 and in the presence of 0-2% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences from strain 104T and reference species of the genus Kocuria indicated that strain 104T formed an independent line. The G+C content of the chromosomal DNA was 60.6 mol%. MK-7 was the major menaquinone and the predominant fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 (76.7 %), anteiso-C17 : 0 (10.9 %) and iso-C16 : 0 (4.5 %). Strain 104T was most closely related to Kocuria rhizophila TA68T (98.9% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). The DNA-DNA hybridization value between strain 104T and K. rhizophila TA68T was 14.1±3.4 %. On the basis of this polyphasic taxonomic analysis, strain 104T appears to represent a novel species in the genus Kocuria. The name Kocuria salsicia sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 104T (=KACC 21128T=JCM 16361T).