Rheinheimera pacifica sp. nov., a novel halotolerant bacterium isolated from deep sea water of the Pacific.

An aerobic, Gram-negative, non-fermentative, rod-shaped, motile, non-pigmented bacterium, KMM 1406(T), was isolated from a sample of Pacific deep sea water and investigated for phenotypic characteristics, chemotaxonomic features and phylogenetic relationships. The deep-sea isolate exhibited growth in 0-8 % (w/v) NaCl and at 4-37 degrees C, hydrolytic activity on gelatin, Tween 80 and starch and lack of D-glucose utilization. The major fatty acids were C(16 : 0), C(16 : 1)omega9c, C(17 : 1)omega8c and C(18 : 1)omega7c. The DNA G+C content was 49.6 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain KMM 1406(T) was related closely to Rheinheimera baltica DSM 14885(T) within the gamma-Proteobacteria, with 96.8 % sequence similarity. On the basis of phenotypic and molecular data, a novel species, Rheinheimera pacifica sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is KMM 1406(T) (=IAM 15043(T)=JCM 12090(T)=NRIC 0539(T)=CCUG 46544(T)).