Alcanivorax limicola sp. nov., isolated from a soda alkali-saline soil.

An alkaliphilic and aerobic bacterium, designated as strain JB21, was isolated from a soda alkali-saline soil sample in Heilongjiang, Northeast China. Strain JB21 is a Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile and amylase-positive bacterium. Growth occurred at 15-45 °C (optimum, 35-37 °C), in the presence of 0-15.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 1.0%) and at pH 6.5-10.5 (optimum, pH 8.5-9.5). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JB21 was most closely related to type strains of the genus Alcanivorax, with the highest sequence similarity to Alcanivorax indicus SW127 (96.3%), and shared 95.4-93.1% sequence identity with other valid type strains of this genus. The major cellular fatty acids identified were C and summed feature 8 (Cω6c and/or Cω7c). The polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and one unidentified phospholipid. The genomic G + C content of strain JB21 was 61.3 mol%. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) estimation and average nucleotide identity (ANI) between strain JB21 and type strains of the genus Alcanivorax were 18.3-23.2% and 69.2-79.0%, respectively. On the basis of its phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, we suggest the creation of a new species within the Alcanivorax genus, named Alcanivorax limicola sp. nov., type strain JB21 (= CGMCC 1.16632 = JCM 33717).