Lewinella antarctica sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from Antarctic seawater

A marine bacterium, designated IMCC3223T, was isolated from Antarctic coastal seawater and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic investigation. Cells of the strain were Gram-negative, short to elongated rods that were orange-coloured but negative for flexirubin-type pigments, obligately aerobic, chemoheterotrophic and devoid of gliding or flagellar motility. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons, the strain was closely related to members of the genus Lewinella (86.3-93.1 %) of the family 'Saprospiraceae' in the phylum Bacteroidetes; the most closely related species was Lewinella lutea (93.1 % similarity to the type strain). The DNA G+C content of the strain was 50.3 mol% and the major respiratory quinone was MK-7. The predominant cellular fatty acids were C(16 : 1)omega7c/iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH (39.4 %), iso-C(15 : 0) (15.9 %), C(17 : 1)omega7c (10.5 %) and C(15 : 1)omega6c (8.9 %). 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses and the phenotypic and chemotaxonomic tests allowed the differentiation of strain IMCC3223T from all recognized species of the genus Lewinella. Therefore, strain IMCC3223T represents a novel species of the genus Lewinella, for which the name Lewinella antarctica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IMCC3223T (=KCCM 42688T =NBRC 103142T).