Zooshikella marina sp. nov. a cycloprodigiosin- and prodigiosin-producing marine bacterium isolated from beach sand.

A red-pigmented bacterium producing a metallic green sheen, designated strain JC333T, was isolated from a sand sample collected from Shivrajpur-Kachigad beach, Gujarat, India. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain JC333T showed highest sequence similarity to Zooshikella ganghwensis JC2044T (99.24 %) and less than 91.94 % similarity with other members of the class Gammaproteobacteria. DNA-DNA hybridizations between JC333T and Z. ganghwensis JC2044T showed low relatedness values of 19 ± 1.3 % (reciprocal 21 ± 2.2 %). The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-9 (Q9) and the polar lipid profile was composed of the major components diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid and an unidentified lipid. The presence of C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c, C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω7c and C12 : 0 as major fatty acids supported the affiliation of strain JC333T to the genus Zooshikella. Prodigiosin, cycloprodigiosin and eight other prodigiosin analogues were the pigments of JC333T. Characterization based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, physiological parameters, pigment analysis, ubiquinone, and polar lipid and fatty acid compositions revealed that JC333T represents a novel species of the genus Zooshikella, for which the name Zooshikella marina sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JC333T ( = KCTC 42659T = LMG 28823T).