Sp. Nov. Isolated from Deep-water Marine Sponge

A novel bacterial strain, designated as PHS-Z3, was isolated from a marine sponge belonging to the genus on the Puerto Galera Deep Monkey, Philippines. Cells of PHS-Z3 were Gram-stain-positive, motile, oxidase- and catalase-positive, white-pigmented, spore-forming, short rods that could grow at 10-40 °C (optimum, 20 °C), pH 6.0-9.5 (optimum, pH 7.5) and with 2-16 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 7 %). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of PHS-Z3 showed 97.9 %, 96.7 %, and 96.2 % identities to C/2, DT7-4 and RC11, respectively. The results of phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that PHS-Z3 formed an independent cluster with C/2. The total genome of PHS-Z3 was approximately 7 613 364 bp in size with a DNA G+C content of 51.6 %. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between PHS-Z3 and other type strains of species of the genus were 68.0-81.4 % [ANI by blast (ANIb)], 83.0-88.0 % [ANI by MUMmer (ANIm)] and 12.7-32.1 % (dDDH). The dDDH and ANI values were below the standard cut-off criteria for delineation of bacterial species. The percentage of conserved proteins (POCP) values between the genome of PHS-Z3 and those of members of the genus were 39.7-75.7 %, while the average amino acid identity (AAI) values were 55.9-83.7 %. The sole respiratory quinone in the strain was MK-7, and the predominant fatty acids were anteiso-C and C. The major polar lipids of PHS-Z3 consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phospholipid and phosphatidylglycerol. The characteristic amino acid in the cell wall of PHS-Z3 was diamino heptanoic acid (-DAP). On the basis of the molecular, physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic features, strain PHS-Z3 represents a novel species of the genus , for which the name sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain PHS-Z3 (=MCCC 1K07848=KCTC 43443).