Oceanobacillus profundus sp. nov., isolated from a deep-sea sediment core

A halotolerant, facultatively alkaliphilic bacterium, designated CL-MP28T, was isolated from the surface of a sediment core sample collected at a depth of 2247 m in the Ulleung Basin of the East Sea, Korea. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain CL-MP28T revealed an affiliation with the genus Oceanobacillus. The sequence similarities between the isolate and type strains of members of the genus Oceanobacillus were in the range 95.0-96.0 %, indicating that strain CL-MP28T represented a novel species within the genus. The strain was found to be Gram-positive, rod-shaped and motile by means of peritrichous flagella and was shown to produce ellipsoidal spores. The strain was strictly aerobic and able to grow with NaCl at concentrations in the range 0-14 % (w/v) at pH 7.5. The strain grew at temperatures of 15-42 degrees C and at pH 6.5-9.5. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C(15 : 0) (64.9 %), anteiso-C(17 : 0) (11.9 %) and iso-C(16 : 0) (7.7 %). The major isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The DNA G+C content was 40.2 mol%. According to the 16S rRNA gene sequence, DNA-DNA relatedness and physiological data and the fatty acid composition, CL-MP28T could be assigned to the genus Oceanobacillus, but is distinguishable from the recognized species of this genus. Strain CL-MP28T therefore represents a novel species within the genus Oceanobacillus, for which the name Oceanobacillus profundus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CL-MP28T (=KCCM 42318T=DSM 18246T).