Aquimarina agarilytica sp. nov., an agarolytic species isolated from a red alga
A novel yellow-pigmented, agarolytic bacterial strain, designated ZC1T, was isolated from the surface of the marine red alga Porphyra haitanensis collected near Nan Ao Island, Guangdong province, China. The isolate was Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic and rod-shaped and displayed β-galactosidase, alkaline phosphatase, catalase and oxidase activities. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH) and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The major menaquinone was menaquinone 6 (MK-6). The DNA G+C content was 32.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain ZC1T was closely related to members of the genus Aquimarina in the family Flavobacteriaceae , phylum Bacteroidetes . Based on phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence, strain ZC1T ( = CCTCC AB 2010229T = NBRC 107695T) represents the type strain of a novel species in the genus Aquimarina , for which the name Aquimarina agarilytica sp. nov. is proposed.