Carnobacterium antarcticum sp. nov., a psychrotolerant, alkaliphilic bacterium isolated from sandy soil in Antarctica

A novel, alkaliphilic, psychrotolerant, facultative anaerobe, designated CP1 T , was isolated from sandy soil near the Davis Station in Antarctica. The short-rod-shaped cells displayed Gram-positive staining and did not form spores. Strain CP1 T was able to grow at temperatures between 4 and 36 °C, pH 6.0-9.5, and in the presence of up to 5.0 % (w/v) NaCl. 16S rRNA gene and multilocus (pheS, rpoA, and atpA) sequence analysis revealed Carnobacterium mobile DSM 4848 T and Carnobacterium iners LMG 26642 T as the closest relatives (97.4 and 97.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, respectively). The genomic G+C content was 38.1 mol%, and DNA-DNA hybridization with DSM 4848 T revealed 32.4±3.4 % similarity. The major fatty acid components were C14 : 0 and C16 : 1ω9c. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and was of peptidoglycan type A1γ. Based on physiological, genotypic and biochemical characteristics, strain CP1 T represents a novel species of the genus Carnobacterium for which the name Carnobacterium antarcticum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CP1 T (=DSM 103363 T =CGMCC 1.15643 T ).