Rheinheimera perlucida sp. nov., a marine bacterium of the Gammaproteobacteria isolated from surface water of the central Baltic Sea

Abstract

A bacterial isolate from the Baltic Sea, BA131T, was characterized for its physiological and biochemical features, fatty acid profile, G+C content and phylogenetic position based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The strain was isolated from surface water of the central Baltic Sea during the decay of a plankton bloom. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed a clear affiliation with the Gammaproteobacteria, and showed closest phylogenetic relationships with the genera Alishewanella and Rheinheimera. The G+C content of the DNA of strain BA131T was 48.9 mol%. Cells were non-pigmented, Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile by means of a single polar flagellum and catalase- and oxidase-positive. Growth was observed at salinities from 0 to 8 %, with an optimum at 1–3 %. Temperature for growth ranged from 4 to 37 °C, with an optimum around 25 °C. The fatty acids were dominated by 16 : 0 (17–18 %) and by unsaturated compounds (>61 % of the total): 16 : 1ω7c (24–33 %), 17 : 1ω8c (14–18 %) and 18 : 1ω7c (9–12 %). Based on the data presented, BA131T is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Rheinheimera, Rheinheimera perlucida sp. nov. The type strain is BA131T (=LMG 23581T=CIP 109200T).