Shewanella algicola sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from brown algae

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium motile by means of a single polar flagella, strain ST-6T, was isolated from a brown alga (Sargassum thunbergii) collected in Jeju, Republic of Korea. Strain ST-6T was psychrotolerant, growing at 4-30 °C (optimum 20 °C). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences revealed that strain ST-6T belonged to a distinct lineage in the genus Shewanella. Strain ST-6T was related most closely to Shewanella basaltis J83T, S. gaetbuli TF-27T, S. arctica IT12T, S. vesiculosa M7T and S. aestuarii SC18T, showing 96-97 % and 85-70 % 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences similarities, respectively. DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain ST-6T and the type strains of two species of the genus Shewanella were <22.6 %. The major cellular fatty acids (>5 %) were summed feature 3 (comprising C16:1ω7c and/ or iso-C15:0 2-OH), C16:0, iso-C13:0 and C17:1ω8c. The DNA G+C content of strain ST-6Twas 42.4 mol%, and the predominant isoprenoid quinones were menaquinone MK-7 and ubiquinones Q-7 and Q-8. On the basis of its phenotypic properties and phylogenetic distinctiveness, strain ST-6T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Shewanella, for which the name Shewanella algicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ST-6T (= KCTC 23253T = JCM 31091T).