Maricurvus nonylphenolicus gen. nov., sp. nov., a nonylphenol-degrading bacterium isolated from seawater.

A novel aerobic, Gram-negative bacterial strain, designated KU41E(T), which degrades p-n-nonylphenol, was isolated from seawater obtained from the coastal region of Ishigaki Island, Japan. Cells are motile, curved rods with a single polar flagellum. Strain KU41E(T) grew at 20-35 °C, pH 7.0-8.0, in the presence of 1.0-4.0% NaCl. The predominant respiratory lipoquinone was ubiquinone-8, and the major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C(15:0) iso 2OH and/or C(16:1) ω7c, 28.4%), C(18:1) ω7c (19.8%), and C(16:0) (17.0%). The DNA G + C content was 48.6 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain KU41E(T) is affiliated with the order Alteromonadales within the class Gammaproteobacteria and is most closely related to Pseudoteredinibacter isoporae SW-11(T) (93.6% similarity) and Teredinibacter turnerae T7902(T) (91.9% similarity). On the basis of physiological, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic data, strain KU41E(T) is suggested to represent a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Maricurvus nonylphenolicus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of M. nonylphenolicus is KU41E(T) (=JCM 17778(T)).