Marinomonas ushuaiensis sp. nov., isolated from coastal sea water in Ushuaia, Argentina, sub-Antarctica

Abstract

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, psychrophilic, motile, non-spore-forming bacterium, strain U1T, was isolated from Ushuaia located at the southernmost tip of Argentina. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain U1^T was found to be closely related to Marinomonas communis (DSM 5604^T) and Marinomonas primoryensis (IAM 15010^T). At the DNA-DNA level, however, the values for similarity were 41 and 25%, respectively. The major fatty acids present were iso-C_16:0, C_16:1ω7c, iso-C_17:1 and C_18:1ω7c and the G+C content of the DNA was 43·6 mol%. All of the above characteristics support the affiliation of strain U1^T to the genus Marinomonas. Furthermore, on the basis of phenotypic features, chemotaxonomic characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, it appears that strain U1T is distinct from the four Marinomonas species with validly published names. Strain U1^T, therefore, represents a novel species, for which the name Marinomonas ushuaiensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of M. ushuaiensis is U1^T (=MTCC 6143^T=DSM 15871^T=JCM 12170^T).