Chitinibacter suncheonensis sp. nov., a chitinolytic bacterium from a mud flat in Suncheon Bay.

A chitinolytic bacterium, designated strain SK16(T), was isolated from a mud flat in Suncheon Bay, Republic of Korea. Strain SK16(T) is Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, motile by a polar flagellum, and short rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strain belonged to the genus Chitinibacter and was most closely related to Chitinibacter tainanensis S1(T) (98.2% similarity). DNA-DNA hybridization analyses showed a low association value of 20.45±4.08% between them. The major cellular fatty acids, the G+C content of the genomic DNA, and the predominant quinone of the strain were summed feature 3 (iso-C(15:0) 2-OH and/or C(16:1) ω7c; 50.5%) and C(12:0) (12.5%), 52.26 mol%, and Q-8, respectively. Based on the phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic, and phenotypic properties, strain SK16(T) represents a novel species of the genus Chitinibacter, for which the name Chitinibacter suncheonensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SK16(T) (=KCTC 23839(T) =DSM 25421(T)).