Bacillus oceani sp nov., a new slightly halophilic bacterium, isolated from a deep sea sediment environment

Abstract

A strictly aerobic, Gram-stain positive, slightly halophilic strain, designated SCSIO 04524T, was isolated from a deep sea sediment sample collected from the northern South China Sea at a depth of 3415 m. The isolate slightly embedded into the medium after 72 h incubation at 30 C. Growth was found to occur on media with 0-10 % NaCl but extremely weak growth occurred without supplying NaCl. The predominant menaquinone was determined to be MK-7. The major cellular fatty acid identified was iso-C15:0. The diagnostic polar lipids were determined to be diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidyl methylethanolamine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. The genomic DNA G+C content was determined to be 38 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis showed that this strain had the highest similarities with Bacillus carboniphilus JCM 9731T (94.7 %) and Bacillus endophyticus 2DTT (94.3 %). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain SCSIO 04524T formed a distinct lineage with Bacillus chungangensis CAU 348T and B. carboniphilus JCM 9731T. Physiological characteristics including utilization of sole nitrogen and carbon sources, and chemotaxonomic properties of cellular fatty acids and polar lipids could readily distinguish strain SCSIO 04524T from its most closely related species. Based on this polyphasic taxonomic data, a new species, Bacillus oceani Sp. Nov., is proposed, with the type strain SCSIO 04524 T (=DSM 26213T = KCTC 33077T).