Gramella salexigens sp. Nov., isolated from seawater

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic bacterial strain, designated LPB0144^T was isolated from the seawater of South Sea, Korea. The 16S rRNA gene sequence was found to share the highest sequence similarity to Gramella sediminilitoris GHTF-27^T (97.7 %) and the strain branched within the radiation of the genus Gramella in phylogenetic trees. Thus, the taxonomic position of the novel isolate was investigated using a polyphasic approach and complete genome sequencing. Strain LPB0144^T has a circular chromosome of 2.98 Mb with DNA G+C content of 38.2 mol%. The genome includes 2604 protein-coding genes and three copies of rRNA operons. The detected respiratory quinone (MK-6) and the major polar lipid (phosphatidylethanolamine) resemble the chemotaxonomic profile of other Gramella species. The major cellular fatty acid profile (iso-C_{15: 0}, iso-C_{16: 0}, iso-C_{17: 0} 3-OH and anteiso-C_{15: 0}) is also within the range of Gramella, but detailed composition and amounts were found to be different from those of closely related neighbours. Many biochemical and physiological characteristics also distinguished the isolate from other species within the genus Gramella. On the basis of polyphasic taxonomic data obtained here, we propose strain LPB0144^T as a novel Gramella species, for which the name Gramella salexigens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LPB0144^T (=KACC 18894^T=JCM 31560^T).