Marinobacter nanhaiticus sp. nov., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium isolated from the sediment of the South China Sea

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, slightly halophilic and facultatively anaerobic bacterium, designated strain D15-8WT, was isolated from the sediment of the South China Sea. Growth was found to occur optimally at 25 °C, between pH 7.0 and 8.0 and with 1–5 % (w/v) NaCl. The strain was observed to utilize a variety of organic substrates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as sole carbon sources. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was determined to be 58.7 %. The predominant respiratory quinone was found to be Q-9. The significant fatty acids were determined to be C16:0, C16:1ω9c, C18:1ω9c, C12:0 and C14:0 3OH. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain D15-8WT fits within the phylogenetic cluster of the genus Marinobacter and is most closely related to Marinobactersegnicrescens CGMCC 1.6489T, Marinobacter bryozoorum DSM 15401T, Marinobacter lacisalsi CECT 7297T and Marinobacter daqiaonensis CGMCC1.9167T. The DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain D15-8WT and the type strains of the most closely related species were 42.3 % (CGMCC 1.6489T), 39.8 % (DSM 15401T), 37.3 % (CECT 7297T) and 35.2 % (CGMCC1.9167T). The results of this polyphasic study indicate that strain D15-8WT represents a novel species of the genus Marinobacter, for which the name Marinobacter nanhaiticus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is D15-8WT (=CGMCC 1.11019T=KCTC 23749T).