A NEW SPECIES OF MELANIN-PRODUCING BACTERIA OF THE GENUS ALTEROMONAS

Bacterial strain KMM 638, which was assigned to the genus Alteromonas, was isolated from a sponge taken from a depth of 350 m near the Koman dorskie Islands. Strain KMM 638 differed from other alteromonads by th e presence in its populations of both monotrichous cells and cells pos sessing from two to five polar and lateral flagella. On complex media, strain KMM 638 formed brown colonies and produced a melanin-like pigm ent. The GC content in the DNA was 43.8 mol %. Based on the phenotypic properties and the data of DNA-DNA hybridization with the type strain s of Alteromonas species (A. nigrifaciens, A. haloplanktis, A. macleod ii, and A. tetraodonis), strain KMM 638 was assigned to a new species Alteromonas distincta sp. nov. The diagnosis of the new species is pre sented.