Glaciecola chathamensis sp. nov., a novel marine polysaccharide-producing bacterium.

Two novel exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria, strains S18K6T and S18K5, were isolated from Pacific Ocean sediment. The isolates were Gram-negative, motile, strictly aerobic chemoheterotrophic bacteria. The DNA G+C contents of strains S18K6T and S18K5 were 44.8 and 46.3 mol%, respectively. DNA–DNA relatedness between the two strains was 70 %. Major fatty acids were hexadecanoic acid (C16 : 0), hexadecenoic acid (C16 : 1 ω7c) and octadecenoic acid (C18 : 1 ω7c). 16S rRNA gene sequence, chemotaxonomic and morphological data indicated that these strains clearly belonged to the genus Glaciecola. Based on phenotypic properties and DNA–DNA hybridization data, strains S18K6T and S18K5 are considered to represent a novel species of the genus Glaciecola, for which the name Glaciecola chathamensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S18K6T (=JCM 13645T=NCIMB 14146T).