Rhizobium marinum sp. nov., a malachite-green-tolerant bacterium isolated from seawater

A motile, Gram-stain-negative, non-pigmented bacterial strain, designated MGL06T, was isolated from seawater of the South China Sea on selection medium containing 0.1 % (w/v) malachite green. Strain MGL06T showed highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Rhizobium vignae CCBAU 05176T (97.2 %), and shared 93.2-96.9 % with the type strains of other recognized Rhizobium species. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and housekeeping gene sequences showed that strain MGL06T belonged to the genus Rhizobium. Mean levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain MGL06T and R. vignae CCBAU 05176T, Rhizobium huautlense S02T and Rhizobium alkalisoli CCBAU 01393T were 20 ± 3, 18 ± 2 and 14 ± 3 %, respectively, indicating that strain MGL06T was distinct from them genetically. Strain MGL06T did not form nodules on three different legumes, and the nodD and nifH genes were also not detected by PCR or based on the draft genome sequence. Strain MGL06T contained Q-10 as the predominant ubiquinone. The major fatty acid was C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c with minor amounts of C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c, C16 : 0 and C18 : 1ω7c 11-methyl. Polar lipids of strain MGL06T included unknown glycolipids, phosphatidylcholine, aminolipid, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, an unknown polar lipid and aminophospholipid. Based on its phenotypic and genotypic data, strain MGL06T represents a novel species of the genus Rhizobium, for which the name Rhizobium marinum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MGL06T ( = MCCC 1A00836T = JCM 30155T).