Pseudoalteromonas xishaensis sp. nov., isolated from Acanthaster planci in the Xisha islands.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, motile by means of single polar flagellum, short rod-shaped marine bacterium, designated strain E418T, was isolated from the spines on the body surface of starfish Acanthaster planci in the Xisha islands, China. Cells of strain E418T were found to grow optimally at pH 7–8, at 25–37 °C, and in the presence of 2–5 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on the comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain E418T is a member of the genus Pseudoalteromonas. The closest relative to this strain was found to be P. ruthenica LMG 19699T, with a similarity level of 97.7 %. DNA relatedness between the novel isolate and this phylogenetically related species was 57.4 %. Strain E418T decomposed Tween 80, gelatin, and casein, but was unable to decompose starch and grow on DNase Agar. The cellular fatty acid profile consisted of significant amounts of C16:1ω7c/C16:1ω6c, C18:1ω7c/C18:1ω6c, C16:0, and C17:1ω8c. The G+C content of DNA of this strain was determined to be 46.7 mol%. Phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic analysis and DNA–DNA relatedness data suggest that strain E418T represents a novel species of the genus Pseudoalteromonas, for which the name Pseudoalteromonas xishaensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of P. xishaensis is strain E418T (DSM 25588T = NBRC 108846T = CCTCC AB 2011177T).