Fundibacter jadensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new slightly halophilic bacterium, isolated from intertidal sediment

A moderately halophilic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium was isolated from c ontinuous cultures containing a suspension of intertidal sediment from the German North Sea coast with hexadecane as the sole carbon source. On the ba sis of phenotypic characteristics, fatty acid analysis and 16S rDNA sequenc e analysis, it was considered to be a new species belonging to a new genus. It is a Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium, whose cell size vari es. It grows at concentrations of 0.5-15% (w/v) NaCl and utilizes a restric ted spectrum of carbon sources. The G+C content of the DNA is 63.6 mol%, Co mparative 16S rDNA studies show a clear affiliation of this bacterium to th e gamma subclass of the class Proteobacteria. Comparison of phylogenetic da ta indicate that it is most closely related to Marinobacter hydrocarbonocla sticus (88.9% similarity in 16S rRNA gene sequence). Since it is impossible to find a sufficiently closely related species, we propose the name Fundib acter jadensis gen, nov., sp. nov. for the bacteria. The type strain is T9( T) (= DSM 12178(T)).