Altererythrobacter atlanticus sp. nov., isolated from deep-sea sediment

A Gram-stain-negative, short rod-shaped bacterium, designated 26DY36(T), was isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample collected from the North Atlantic Rise. The isolate required NaCl and grew best with 2 % (w/v) sea salts at a temperature of 30-35 °C and at pH 7.0. It formed yellow colonies, produced carotenoid-like pigments and did not produce bacteriochlorophyll a. Strain 26DY36(T) was positive for hydrolysis of aesculin, gelatin, tyrosine and Tweens 20, 40, 60 and 80, but negative for hydrolysis of casein, DNA and starch. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10. The major polar lipid profile consisted of sphingoglycolipid, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine and two unidentified glycolipids. The principal fatty acids (>5 %) were C18 : 1ω7c, C17 : 1ω6c, C15 : 0 2-OH and C16 : 0. The genomic DNA G+C content was 59.4 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain 26DY36(T) should be assigned to the genus Altererythrobacter. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities between the isolate and the type strains of species of the genus Altererythrobacter were in the range 92.7-96.5 %. On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic data, strain 26DY36(T) represents a novel species of the genus Altererythrobacter, for which the name Altererythrobacter atlanticus sp. nov. (type strain, 26DY36(T) = CGMCC 1.12411(T) = JCM 18865(T)) is proposed.