Zobellella maritima sp. nov., a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium, isolated from beach sediment.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain 102-Py4, was isolated from Sinduri beach sediment in Taean, Republic of Korea. Cells were aerobic, oxidase-positive and catalase-positive. The isolate grew optimally with 1-3 % (w/v) NaCl, but NaCl is not an absolute requirement for growth. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain 102-Py4 clustered together with Zobellella aerophila and fell within the clade formed by recognized species of the genus Zobellella. Its closest phylogenetic neighbours were Z. aerophila JC2671 (98.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Zobellella denitrificans ZD1 (96.4 %) and Zobellella taiwanensis ZT1 (96.0 %). The major fatty acids were summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), C12 : 0, summed feature 8 (comprising C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c) and C16 : 0. The polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and two unidentified amino lipids. The DNA G+C content was 62.1 mol%. The DNA-DNA relatedness value between strain 102-Py4 and Z. aerophila JC2671 was 12.4±1.3 %. The phenotypic properties of 102-Py4 demonstrated that this strain could be distinguished from other Zobellella species. On the basis of the data presented, strain 102-Py4 (=KCTC 62272=JCM 32359=DSM 106043) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Zobellella, for which the name Zobellella maritima sp. nov. is proposed.