Downloaded from www.microbiologyresearch.org by IP: 54.70.40.11 On: Sat, 17 Nov 2018 03:07:32 Zobellella aerophila sp. nov., isolated from seashore sand, and emended description of the genus Zobellella Hana Yi, 1 Jaekyeong Song, 2 Jang-Cheon Cho 3 and Jongsik Chun 1,4 Correspondence Jongsik Chun jchun@snu.ac.kr 1 Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Seoul National University, 599 Kwanak-ro, Kwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea 2 National Agrobiodiversity Center, NAAS, RDA, Suwon, 441-853, Republic of Korea 3 Division of Biology and Ocean Sciences, Inha University, Incheon 402-751, Republic of Korea 4 School of Biological Sciences & Institute of Bioinformatics (BIOMAX), Seoul National University, 599 Kwanak-ro, Kwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea A strictly aerobic, nitrate-reducing, motile, rod-shaped member of the class Gammaproteobacteria, designated strain JC2671 T , was isolated from a seashore sand sample from Dokdo, Korea. The isolate reduced nitrate to nitrite, but not to nitrogen, and required NaCl for growth. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the isolate belonged to the genus Zobellella within the order Alteromonadales with sequence similarities of 96.0–97.6 % to strains of Zobellella species with validly published names. However, in DNA–DNA hybridization studies, a low genomic relatedness (43 %) between strain JC2671 T and the type strain of Zobellella denitrificans indicated that the isolate represented a novel genomic species. The polar lipid pattern (phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol), predominant cellular fatty acids [C 16 : 0 , summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1 v6c and/or C 16 : 1 v7c) and summed feature 8 (C 18 : 1 v6c and/ or C 18 : 1 v7c)] and the DNA G+C content (59 mol%) of the novel strain were consistent with its assignment to the genus Zobellella. In contrast, a number of phenotypic characteristics, namely a requirement of NaCl for growth, the inability to grow under facultatively anaerobic conditions, the absence of nitrite reduction and differences in carbohydrate utilization and enzymic activities, clearly distinguished the novel isolate from other species of the genus Zobellella. Data from this polyphasic study indicate that strain JC2671 T represents a novel species in the genus Zobellella, for which the name Zobellella aerophila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JC2671 T (5KACC 15081 T 5JCM 17110 T ). The description of the genus Zobellella has been emended accordingly. The genus Zobellella was proposed by Lin & Shieh (2006) to accommodate two novel Gram-negative, motile by a polar flagella, heterotrophic, denitrifying and facultatively anaerobic bacteria, namely Zobellella denitrificans and Zobellella taiwanensis. This genus belongs to the order Alteromonadales (Bowman & McMeekin, 2005), with members of the genera Oceanimonas and Oceanisphaera as its closest neighbours. During a recent study of the microbial diversity of Dokdo, Korea, a novel Zobellella-like denitrifying bacterial strain was isolated and subjected to a comprehensive taxonomic study. A Gram-reaction-negative strain, designated JC2671 T , was isolated from a seashore sand sample from Dokdo, Korea (37 u 149 280 N 131 u 529 90 E), using a standard dilution plating method on marine agar 2216 (MA; BD). The isolate was cultured routinely on MA and maintained as glycerol suspensions (20 %, w/v) at 280 u C. The type strains of the two species of the genus Zobellella with validly published names, Z. denitrificans ZD1 T (5JCM 13380 T ) and Z. taiwanensis ZT1 T (5JCM 13381 T ), were also evaluated under identical experimental conditions to those used on strain JC2671 T . The 16S rRNA gene was enzymically amplified from a single colony. Primers, PCR conditions and sequencing methods have been described previously (Chun & Abbreviations: PE, phosphatidylethanolamine; PG, phosphatidylglycerol; TEM, transmission electron microscopy. The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain JC2671 T is HM475140. Two supplementary figures are available with the online version of this paper. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2011), 61, 2491–2495 DOI 10.1099/ijs.0.027466-0 027466 G 2011 IUMS Printed in Great Britain 2491