Pseudomonas guineae sp. nov., a novel psychrotolerant bacterium from an Antarctic environment

Two Gram-negative, cold-adapted, aerobic bacteria, designated strains M8T and M6, were isolated from soil collected from the South Shetland Islands. The organisms were rod-shaped, catalase- and oxidase-positive and motile by means of polar flagella. These two psychrotolerant strains grew between -4 and 30 degrees C. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis placed strains M8T and M6 within the genus Pseudomonas. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments between the Antarctic isolate M8T and type strains of phylogenetically related species, namely Pseudomonas peli and Pseudomonas anguilliseptica, revealed levels of relatedness of 33 and 37%, respectively. Strain M6 showed 99% DNA similarity to strain M8T. Several phenotypic characteristics, together with data on cellular fatty acid composition, served to differentiate strains M8T and M6 from related pseudomonads. On the basis of the polyphasic taxonomic evidence presented in this study, it can be concluded that strains M8T and M6 belong to the same genospecies, representing a novel species of the genus Pseudomonas, for which the name Pseudomonas guineae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is M8T (=LMG 24016T=CECT 7231T).