Brevibacterium celere sp. nov., isolated from degraded thallus of a brown alga.

Two whitish yellow, Gram-positive, non-motile, aerobic bacteria were isolated from enrichment culture during degradation of the thallus of the brown alga Fucus evanescens. The bacteria studied were chemo-organotrophic, mesophilic and grew well on nutrient media containing up to 15 % (w/v) NaCl. The DNA G+C content was 61 mol%. The two isolates exhibited a conspecific DNA-DNA relatedness value of 98 %, indicating that they belong to the same species. A comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain KMM 3637(T) formed a distinct phyletic lineage in the genus Brevibacterium (family Brevibacteriaceae, class Actinobacteria) and showed the highest sequence similarity (about 97 %) to Brevibacterium casei. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments demonstrated 45 % binding with the DNA of B. casei DSM 20657(T). Physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics (meso-diaminopimelic acid in the peptidoglycan, major cellular fatty acids 15 : 0ai and 17 : 0ai) of the bacteria studied were consistent with the genomic and phylogenetic data. On the basis of the results of this study, a novel species, Brevibacterium celere sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is KMM 3637(T) (=DSM 15453(T)=ATCC BAA-809(T)).