A novel marine bacterial strain, designated JAM 119T, was isolated from a tubeworm trophosome in Kagoshima Bay, Japan. Cells were Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming aerobic chemoorganotrophs and motile by means of a single polar flagellum. The isolate grew optimally at 25-27 °C and in the presence of 3 % NaCl. The major respiratory quinone was Q-10. The predominant fatty acid was C18 : 1ω7c. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified aminolipid were the major polar lipids. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolated strain was closely affiliated with members of the genus Planktotalea in the class Alphaproteobacteria, and the 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of the new isolates with the closest related species, Planktotalea frisia SH6-1T, was 97.3 %. The DNA G+C content of the novel strain was 57.0 mol%. Based on differences in taxonomic characteristics, the isolated strain represents a novel species of the genus Planktotalea, for which the name Planktotalealamellibrachiae sp. nov. (type strain JAM 119T; JCM 31859T=DSMZ 104669T) is proposed.
Keywords: Planktotalea; marine bacteria; tubeworm.