Isolation and characterization of a marine cyclohexylacetate-degrading bacterium Lutimaribacter litoralis sp. nov., and reclassification of Oceanicola pacificus as Lutimaribacter pacificus comb. nov.

A novel aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile, pleomorphic, and rod-shaped bacterium designated KU5D5(T) was isolated from seawater that was obtained from the coastal region of the Goto Islands, Japan, on the basis of its ability to utilize cyclohexylacetate as the sole source of carbon and energy. Strain KU5D5(T) grew at pH 6.0-8.0 and 10-35 °C in the presence of 1.0-5.0 % (w/v) NaCl. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that this strain was affiliated to the family Rhodobacteraceae in the class Alphaproteobacteria and was related most closely to Lutimaribacter saemankumensis (96.6 % similarity) and Oceanicola pacificus (96.6 %). The predominant respiratory lipoquinone was ubiquinone-10 and the major cellular fatty acids were C(18:1) ω7c (66.7 %), C(16:0) (7.7 %), C(12:1) 3-OH (6.1 %), and C(17:0) (6.1 %). The DNA G+C content was 58.9 mol %. On the basis of physiological, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic data, strain KU5D5(T) is suggested to represent a novel species of the genus Lutimaribacter, for which the name Lutimaribacter litoralis sp. nov. is proposed. It is also proposed that O. pacificus should be transferred to the genus Lutimaribacter as Lutimaribacter pacificus comb. nov. The type strain of L. litoralis is KU5D5(T) (=JCM 17792(T) = KCTC 23660(T)) and the type strain of L. pacificus is W11-2B(T) (=CCTCC AB 208224(T) = LMG 24619(T) = MCCC 1A01034(T)).