Thalassobius abyssi sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from cold-seep sediment

A novel marine bacterial strain, designated JAMH 043 T , was isolated from cold-seep sediment in Sagami Bay, Japan. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile and aerobic chemo-organotrophs. The isolate grew optimally at 25 °C, at pH 7.0-7.5 and with 3 % (w/v) NaCl. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10 (Q-10). The predominant fatty acid was C 18 : 1 ω7 c . On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolated strain was closely affiliated to members of the genus Thalassobius in the class Alphaproteobacteria , and 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of the novel isolate with the type strain of its closest related species, Thalassobius aestuarii JC2049 T , was 98.4 %. The DNA G+C content of the novel strain was 58.0 mol%. The hybridization values for DNA-DNA relatedness between strain JAMH 043 T and reference strains belonging to the genus Thalassobius were less than 14.1 ± 2.2 %. Based on differences in taxonomic characteristics, the isolated strain represents a novel species of the genus Thalassobius , for which the name Thalassobius abyssi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JAMH 043 T ( = JCM 30900 T  = DSM 100673 T ).