Glaciecola chathamensis sp nov., a novel marine polysaccharide-producing bacterium

Two novel exopolysaccharicle-producing bacteria, strains S18K6(T) and S18K5, were isolated from Pacific Ocean sediment. The isolates were Gram-negative, motile, strictly aerobic chemoheterotrophic bacteria. The DNA G+C contents of strains S18K6(T) and S18K5 were 44(.)8 and 46.3 mol%, respectively. DNA-DNA relatedness between the two strains was 70%. Major fatty acids were hexadecanoic acid (C-16:0), hexadecenoic acid (C-16:1 omega 7c) and octadecenoic acid (C-18:1 omega 7c). 16S rRNA gene sequence, chemotaxonomic and morphological data indicated that these strains clearly belonged to the genus Glaciecola. Based on phenotypic properties and DNA-DNA hybridization data, strains S18K6(T) and S18K5 are considered to represent a novel species of the genus Glaciecola, for which the name Glaciecola chathamensis so. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S18K6(T) (=JCM 13645(T)= NCIMB 14146(T)).