Gallaecimonas pentaromativorans gen. nov., sp. nov., a bacterium carrying 16S rRNA gene heterogeneity and able to degrade high-molecular-mass polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, halotolerant bacterium, designated strain CEE_131T, which degraded high-molecular-mass polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of four and five rings, was isolated from intertidal sediment of Corcubion Ria in Cee, A Coruña, Spain. Direct sequencing showed ambiguities and suggested heterogeneity. Cloned 16S rRNA gene sequence PCR products yielded five different sequences varying at five positions. Strain CEE_131T showed rather distant relationships to its phylogenetically closest neighbours, including the genera Rheinheimera and Serratia, exhibiting 91 % sequence similarity with Rheinheimera perlucida BA131T and Serratia proteamaculans subsp. quinovora DSM 4597T. The major fatty acids were C16 : 1 ω7c, C16 : 0 and C18 : 1 ω7c. The DNA G+C content was 41.7 mol%. On the basis of these distinct phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, strain CEE_131T is considered to represent a novel species in a new genus in the class Gammaproteobacteria, for which the name Gallaecimonas pentaromativorans gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CEE_131T (=DSM 21945T=CECT 7479T).