Sporosarcina antarctica sp. nov., a psychrophilic bacterium isolated from the Antarctic.

A Gram-positive, psychrophilic, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain N-05(T), was isolated from soil samples collected off King George Island, west Antarctica (6 degrees 13' 31'' S 5 degrees 57' 08'' W). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain N-05(T) was related to members of the genus Sporosarcina and had highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strain of Sporosarcina macmurdoensis (98.0%). The temperature range for growth of strain N-05(T) was 0-23 degrees C, with optimum growth occurring at 17-18 degrees C and approximately pH 6.0-8.0. Strain N-05(T) had MK-7 as the major menaquinone and anteiso-C(15:0) and C(16:1)omega7c alcohol as major fatty acids. The genomic DNA G+C content was 39.2 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic analysis and DNA-DNA relatedness data, strain N-05(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Sporosarcina, for which the name Sporosarcina antarctica is proposed. The type strain is N-05(T) (=CGMCC 1.6503(T)=JCM 14646(T)).