Granulosicoccus marinus sp. nov., isolated from Antarctic seawater, and emended description of the genus Granulosicoccus

A Gram-staining-negative, motile by flagella, non-pigmented, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-producing, strictly aerobic and sphere-shaped bacterium, IMCC3490^T, was isolated from a coastal seawater sample from the Antarctic Peninsula. Optimal growth of strain IMCC3490^T was observed at 20 °C, pH 8.0 and in the presence of 2 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain IMCC3490^T belonged to the genusGranulosicoccus in the family Granulosicoccaceae. The strain was closely related to Granulosicoccus antarcticus IMCC3135^T (98.8 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Granulosicoccus coccoides Z 271^T (98.5 %). The DNA–DNA relatedness values between IMCC3490^T and type strains of the two species of the genus were far lower than 70 %, which indicated strain IMCC3490^T is a novel genomic species of the genus Granulosicoccus. The major fatty acids of strain IMCC3490^T were summed feature 8 (C_{18: 1}ω7cand/or C_{18: 1}ω6c) and summed feature 3 (C_{16: 1}ω7c and/or C_{16: 1}ω6c). The isoprenoid quinone detected was ubiquinone-8 (Q-8) and predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. The DNA G+C content was 61.0 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic analyses, DNA–DNA relatedness values and phenotypic data, it is suggested that strain IMCC3490^T represents a novel species of the genus Granulosicoccus, for which the name Granulosicoccus marinus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IMCC3490^T (= KACC 17483^T = NBRC 109704^T). An emended description of the genus Granulosicoccus is also provided.