A novel Gram-stain-negative, moderately halophilic and aerobic bacterium, designated strain SDRB-Phe2T, was isolated from coastal sediment of the yellow sea in Sindu-ri, Republic of Korea. Cells were oxidase-positive, catalase-positive, rod-shaped and surrounded by a capsule with gliding motility. Colonies were yellow-coloured, circular, pulvinate with entire margins. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SDRB-Phe2T formed a distinct lineage within the genus Maribacter of the family Flavobacteriaceae. Stain SDRB-Phe2T exhibited 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values of 97.1-98.9 % to the type strains of Maribacterstanieri, Maribacterspongiicola, Maribacter forsetii, Maribacter dokdonensis, Maribacter aquivivus, Maribactercaenipelagi, Maribacterlitorisediminis, Maribactersedimenticola, Maribacterulvicola, Maribacter confluentis and Maribacter orientalis, and of 94.8-96.7 % to the type strains of the other species of the genus Maribacter. Strain SDRB-Phe2T contained MK-6 as the predominant respiratory quinone and iso-C15 : 1 G, iso-C15 : 0 and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c) as the major fatty acids. The polar lipids of strain SDRB-Phe2T were phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified amino lipid and two unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content was 36.2 mol%. DNA-DNA relatedness values of strain SDRB-Phe2T to the type strains of the 11 phylogenetically related species of the genus Maribacter were 21.9-38.6 %. On the basis of the phenotypic features, phylogenetic and DNA-DNA hybridization analyses presented here, strain SDRB-Phe2T (=JCM 32373T=KCTC 62273T=DSM 106042T) represents a novel species of the genus Maribacter, for which the name Maribacterlitoralis sp. nov. is proposed.
Keywords: Bacteroidetes; Maribacter; beach sediment; marine bacteria.