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

A bacterial isolate from the Baltic Sea, BA131(T), 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 BA131(T) 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 degrees C, with an optimum around 25 degrees C. The fatty acids were dominated by 16 : 0 (17-18 %) and by unsaturated compounds (>61 % of the total): 16 : 1omega7c (24-33 %), 17 : 1omega8c (14-18 %) and 18 : 1omega7c (9-12 %). Based on the data presented, BA131(T) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Rheinheimera, Rheinheimera perlucida sp. nov. The type strain is BA131(T) (=LMG 23581(T)=CIP 109200(T)).