Maricurvus nonylphenolicus gen. nov., sp. nov., a nonylphenol-degrading bacterium isolated from seawater

Abstract A novel aerobic, Gram-negative bacterial strain, designated KU41ET, which degrades p-n-nonylphenol, was isolated from seawater obtained from the coastal region of Ishigaki Island, Japan. Cells are motile, curved rods with a single polar flagellum. Strain KU41ET grew at 20–35 °C, pH 7.0–8.0, in the presence of 1.0–4.0% NaCl. The predominant respiratory lipoquinone was ubiquinone-8, and the major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C15:0 iso 2OH and/or C16:1 ω7c, 28.4%), C18:1 ω7c (19.8%), and C16:0 (17.0%). The DNA G + C content was 48.6 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain KU41ET is affiliated with the order Alteromonadales within the class Gammaproteobacteria and is most closely related to Pseudoteredinibacter isoporae SW-11T (93.6% similarity) and Teredinibacter turnerae T7902T (91.9% similarity). On the basis of physiological, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic data, strain KU41ET is suggested to represent a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Maricurvus nonylphenolicus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of M. nonylphenolicus is KU41ET (=JCM 17778T).