Fertilizacion

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2003), 53, 583–588

DOI 10.1099/ijs.0.02431-0

Pseudoalteromonas phenolica sp. nov., a novel
marine bacterium that produces phenolic
anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus substances
Alim Isnansetyo and Yuto Kamei
Correspondence
Yuto Kamei

Marine and Highland Bioscience Center, Saga University, 152-1Shonan-cho, Karatsu, Saga
847-0021, Japan

kameiy@cc.saga-u.ac.jp

Four strains of aerobic, Gram-negative rods, motile by means of a single polar flagellum, that
produced phenolic anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) substances and
brown-pigmented colonies, were isolated from sea water. The G+C content of the DNA ranged
from 39?9 to 40?6 mol%. The isolates grew at 18–37 ˚C andpH 6?5–9?5 (optimal pH 7?5–9) and
in medium containing 1–5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimal NaCl concentration 2–3?5 %). The isolates grew
optimally in medium dissolved in 40–100 % artificial sea water. Based on 16S rDNA similarities, the
novel strains were closely related to Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea and Pseudoalteromonas
piscicida, with 96?3 and 95?7 % sequence similarity, respectively. However,the strains could be
differentiated from P. lutioviolacea by seven traits and from P. piscicida by 10 traits. Analysis of
DNA–DNA relatedness to these related species revealed low levels of DNA hybridization (19?6 %
to P. luteoviolacea and 22?4 % to P. piscicida). However, the type strain, O-BC30T, and the other
three bacterial isolates showed high DNA relatedness to each other, ranging from84?8 to 93?7 %.
Based on the results of phenotypic characterization, phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA
sequences and DNA–DNA hybridization, it is concluded that these isolates represent a novel
species in the genus Pseudoalteromonas. Because the type strain, O-BC30T (=IAM 14989T
=KCTC 12086T), produces phenolic anti-MRSA substances, the name proposed for this novel
species isPseudoalteromonas phenolica sp. nov.

INTRODUCTION
The genus Pseudoalteromonas includes both pigmented and
non-pigmented, heterotrophic bacteria, cells of which are
Gram-negative rods, motile by single polar flagella. The
genus was proposed by Gauthier et al. (1995), who divided
Alteromonas into two genera, Alteromonas and Pseudoalteromonas, based on 16S rDNA sequences. Species in the
genusPseudoalteromonas, typically associated with eukar¨
yotic hosts (Holmstrom & Kjelleberg, 1999), are frequently
isolated from marine animals such as sponges (Ivanova
¨
et al., 2002b), tunicates (Holmstrom et al., 1998) and
mussels (Ivanova et al., 1996, 1998) and also from marine
algae such as Ulva lactuca (Egan et al., 2001) and Laminaria
japonica (Sawabe et al., 1998). Several species in the genus,such as Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea (Gauthier, 1982;
Published online ahead of print on 23 August 2002 as DOI 10.1099/
ijs.0.02431-0.
Abbreviations: ASW, artificial sea water; MRSA, methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus.
The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rDNA
sequence of strain O-BC30T is AF332880.

02431 G 2003 IUMS

Printed in Great Britain

Novick & Tyler,1985), Pseudoalteromonas rubra (Gauthier,
1976), Pseudoalteromonas citrae (Gauthier, 1977), Pseudoalteromonas aurantia (Gauthier & Breittmayer, 1979) and
Pseudoalteromonas peptidolytica (Venkateswaran & Dohmoto,
2000), were isolated from sea water. Members of Pseudoalteromonas are also known to be producers of bioactive
¨
substances (Holmstrom & Kjelleberg, 1999). P. luteoviolacea
(Gauthier,1982; Hanefeld et al., 1994), P. rubra (Gauthier,
1976), P. aurantia (Gauthier & Breittmayer, 1979),
Pseudoalteromonas ruthenica (Ivanova et al., 2002a) and
Pseudoalteromonas maricaloris (Ivanova et al., 2002b) have
been determined as antibiotic-producing bacteria. Recently,
we isolated a novel species in the genus Pseudoalteromonas
that produces anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus...