Are the Closely Related Cobetia Strains of Different Species?

Marine bacteria of the genus Cobetia, which are promising sources of unique enzymes and secondary metabolites, were found to be complicatedly identified both by phenotypic indicators due to their ecophysiology diversity and 16S rRNA sequences because of their high homology. Therefore, searching for the additional methods for the species identification of Cobetia isolates is significant. The species-specific coding sequences for the enzymes of each functional category and different structural families were applied as additional molecular markers. The 13 closely related Cobetia isolates, collected in the Pacific Ocean from various habitats, were differentiated by the species-specific PCR patterns. An alkaline phosphatase PhoA seems to be a highly specific marker for C. amphilecti. However, the issue of C. amphilecti and C. litoralis, as well as C. marina and C. pacifica, belonging to the same or different species remains open.