Kocuria salsicia sp. nov., isolated from salt-fermented seafood

Strain 104(T) was isolated from a traditional salt-fermented seafood in Korea. It was a Gram-positive, non-motile, coccus-shaped bacterium. It formed lemon-yellow, opaque colonies that were circular with entire margins. Optimal growth occurred at 30-37 °C, pH 7-8 and in the presence of 0-2 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences from strain 104(T) and reference species of the genus Kocuria indicated that strain 104(T) formed an independent line. The G+C content of the chromosomal DNA was 60.6 mol%. MK-7 was the major menaquinone and the predominant fatty acids were anteiso-C(15 : 0) (76.7 %), anteiso-C(17 : 0) (10.9 %) and iso-C(16 : 0) (4.5 %). Strain 104(T) was most closely related to Kocuria rhizophila TA68(T) (98.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). The DNA-DNA hybridization value between strain 104(T) and K. rhizophila TA68(T) was 14.1±3.4 %. On the basis of this polyphasic taxonomic analysis, strain 104(T) appears to represent a novel species in the genus Kocuria. The name Kocuria salsicia sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 104(T) (=KACC 21128(T)=JCM 16361(T)).