Kistimonas asteriae gen. nov., sp nov., a gammaproteobacterium isolated from Asterias amurensis

A novel marine bacterium, strain KMD 001(T), was isolated from the starfish Asterias amurensis, which inhabits the East Sea of Korea. Strain KMD 001(T) was aerobic, light-yellow pigmented and Gram-stain-negative. Analyses of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain KMD 001(T) represents a novel lineage within the class Gammaproteobacteria. Strain KMD 001(T) is closely related to the genera Endozoicomonas and Zooshikella, which belong to the family Hahellaceae and to the order Oceanospirillales. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain KMD 001(T) shows similarities of approximately 91.8-94.6% with the above-mentioned genera. The DNA G+C content of KMD 001(T) is 47.6 molok. It contains 0-9 as the major isoprenoid quinone. The predominant fatty acids were determined to be anteiso-C-15:0, iso-C-15:0, iso-C-14:0 and iso-C-16:0). Strain KMD 001(T) should be assigned to a novel bacterial genus within the class Gammaproteobacteria based on its phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics. The name Kistimonas asteriae gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KMD 001(T) (=KCCM 90076(T) =JCM 15607(T)).