Abstract
The marine bacterium strain KMM 1376(T) was isolated from gill tissue of the ascidian Halocynthia aurantium, an inhabitant of the coastal waters of the Sea of Japan. Strain KMM 1376(T) is an aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile, encapsulated, non-pigmented, slightly halophilic bacterium that is characterized by fimbria-like structures, growth in 0.5--15% NaCl at 7--35 degrees C and absence of acid production from many carbohydrates. The DNA G+C content is 54 mol%. The main fatty acids are C(16:0), C(16:1)omega7c and C(18:1)omega9c. Comparative 16S rDNA sequence analysis of strain KMM 1376(T) revealed 92.7--95.3% sequence similarity to members of Halomonas. Based on phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, it is proposed that the novel isolate be classified as Halomonas halocynthiae sp. nov., with the type strain KMM 1376(T) (=DSM 14573(T)).