Thalassobius abyssi sp nov., a marine bacterium isolated from cold-seep sediment

A novel marine bacterial strain, designated JAMH 043(T), was isolated from cold-seep sediment in Sagami Bay, Japan. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile and aerobic chemo-organotrophs. The isolate grew optimally at 25 degrees C, at pH 7.0-7.5 and with 3 % (w/v) NaCl. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10 (Q-10). The predominant fatty acid was C-18 : 1 omega 7c. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolated strain was closely affiliated to members of the genus Thalassobius in the class Alphaproteobacteria, and 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of the novel isolate with the type strain of its closest related species, Thalassobius aestuarii JC2049(T), was 98.4 %. The DNA G + C content of the novel strain was 58.0 mol%. The hybridization values for DNA-DNA relatedness between strain JAMH 043T and reference strains belonging to the genus Thalassobius were less than 14.1 +/- 2.2 %. Based on differences in taxonomic characteristics, the isolated strain represents a novel species of the genus Thalassobius, for which the name Thalassobius abyssi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JAMH 043(T) (=JCM 30900(T)=DSM 100673(T)).