Diversity and distribution of the bioactive actinobacterial genus Salinispora from sponges along the Great Barrier Reef

Isolates from the marine actinobacterial genus Salinispora were cultured from marine sponges collected from along the length of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Queensland, Australia. Strains of two species of Salinispora , Salinispora arenicola and “ Salinispora pacifica” , were isolated from GBR sponges Dercitus xanthus , Cinachyrella australiensis and Hyattella intestinalis . Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences of representative strains, selected via BOX-PCR screening, identified previously unreported phylotypes of the species “ S. pacifica ”. The classification of these microdiverse 16S rRNA groups was further confirmed by analysis of the ribonuclease P RNA (RNase P RNA) gene through both phylogenetic and secondary structure analysis. The use of RNase P RNA sequences combined with 16S rRNA sequences allowed distinction of six new intraspecies phylotypes of “ S. pacifica ” within the geographical area of the GBR alone. One of these new phylotypes possessed a localised regional distribution within the GBR.