Spongiibacter marinus gen. nov., sp. nov., a halophilic marine bacterium isolated from the boreal sponge Haliclona sp. 1

1 Berlin University of Technology, Environmental Microbiology Group, Franklinstrasse 29, Sekr. FR 1-2, D-10587 Berlin, Germany 2 Hamburg University of Technology, Technical Microbiology, Kasernenstrasse 12, D-21073 Hamburg, Germany 3 Anagnostec GmbH, Am Mühlenberg 11, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany 4 University of Hamburg, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Marine Chemistry, Bundesstrasse 55, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany 5 Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, D-14195 Berlin, Germany 6 Novozymes A/S, Bacterial screening, Krogshøjvej 36, DK-2880 Bagsværd, Denmark 7 Berlin University of Technology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, Franklinstrasse 29, Sekr. OE2, D-10587 Berlin, Germany Correspondence Ingeborg Graeber i.graeber{at}web.de Strain HAL40b T was isolated from the marine sponge Haliclona sp. 1 collected at the Sula Ridge off the Norwegian coast and characterized by physiological, biochemical and phylogenetic analyses. The isolate was a small rod with a polar flagellum. It was aerobic, Gram-negative and oxidase- and catalase-positive. Optimal growth was observed at 20–30 °C, pH 7–9 and in 3 % NaCl. Substrate utilization tests were positive for arabinose, Tween 40 and Tween 80. Enzyme tests were positive for alkaline phosphatase, esterase lipase (C8), leucine arylamidase, acid phosphatase, naphthol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase and N -acetyl- β -glucosaminidase. The predominant cellular fatty acid was C 17 : 1 8, followed by C 17 : 0 and C 18 : 1 7. Analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS was used to characterize the strain, producing a characteristic low-molecular-mass protein pattern that could be used as a fingerprint for identification of members of this species. The DNA G+C content was 69.1 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis supported by 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison classified the strain as a member of the class Gammaproteobacteria . Strain HAL40b T was only distantly related to other marine bacteria including Neptunomonas naphthovorans and Marinobacter daepoensis (type strain sequence similarity >90 %). Based on its phenotypic, physiological and phylogenetic characteristics, it is proposed that the strain should be placed into a new genus as a representative of a novel species, Spongiibacter marinus gen. nov., sp. nov.; the type strain of Spongiibacter marinus is HAL40b T (=DSM 17750 T =CCUG 54896 T ). Abbreviations: FAMEs, fatty acid methyl esters; MALDI-TOF, matrix-assisted laser desorption/