Shewanella surugensis sp. nov., Shewanella kaireitica sp. nov. and Shewanella abyssi sp. nov., isolated from deep-sea sediments of Suruga Bay, Japan.

Six strains representing three novel species were isolated from deep-sea sediment in Suruga Bay, Japan, at a depth of 2406-2409 m. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolated strains, c931(T), c941(T), d943, c952, d954 and c959(T), are closely affiliated with members of the genus Shewanella. The hybridization values for DNA-DNA relatedness between these strains and Shewanella reference strains were significantly lower than that which is accepted as the phylogenetic definition of a species. On the basis of their distinct taxonomic characteristics, the isolated strains represent three novel Shewanella species, for which the names Shewanella kaireitica sp. nov. (three strains, type strain c931(T)=JCM 11836(T)=DSM 17170(T)), Shewanella abyssi sp. nov. (two strains, type strain c941(T)=JCM 13041(T)=DSM 17171(T)) and Shewanella surugensis sp. nov. (type strain c959(T)=JCM 11835(T)=DSM 17177(T)) are proposed.