Vibrio ruber sp nov., a red, facultatively anaerobic, marine bacterium isolated from sea water

A red, heterotrophic, marine bacterium, designated strain VR1(T), was isolated from a sea-water sample collected in the shallow coastal region of Keelung, Taiwan. Cells of the novel strain were facultatively anaerobic, Gram-negative rods that were motile by means of a polar flagellum. The strain grew optimally at 25-30degreesC and pH 6-7. Growth required the presence of NaCl, the optimal concentration being about 2%. The red pigment produced by the cells was identified as prodigiosin. Strain VR1(T) grew anaerobically by fermenting glucose and other carbohydrates and producing acids and gases. The strain did not require eithervitamins or other organic growth factors for growth. It contained 2-OH-16:0 and 3-OH-14:0 as the major cellular fatty acids. The DNA G + C content was 45.8 mol%. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characterization indicated that strain VR1(T) represents a novel species in the genus Vibrio. Strain VR1(T) is phenotypically similar to Vibrio gazogrenes. However, the reduction of nitrate to nitrite, the ability to utilize D-arabinose, melibiose and L-glycine as sole carbon sources, the inability to utilize sorbitol as a sole carbon source, resistance to O/129 and susceptibility to erythromycin and novobiocin allow differentiation between V. gazogenes and strain VR1(T). The name Vibrio ruber sp. nov. is proposed for the novel species, with strain VR1(T) (= CCRC 17186(T) = JCM 11486(T)) as the type strain.