dc.description.abstract | A novel Gram-negative, non-spore forming, rod-shaped aerobic bacterium, designated SSW136<sup>T</sup>, was isolated from a surface seawater sample collected at Espalamaca (in Faial Island), Azores. Growth was found to occur from 10 to 37 °C, pH 6.0–8.0, and with 2-11 % of NaCl. 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the strain SSW136<sup>T</sup> belongs to the family Rhodobacteraceae. Strain SSW136<sup>T</sup> exhibited 96.3, 95.9, 95.7 and 95.5 sequence similarity to the type strains Oceanicola litoreus M-M22<sup>T</sup>, Roseovarius aestuarii SMK-122<sup>T</sup>, Marivita geojedonensis DPG-138T, and Pseudoruegeria aquimaris SW-255<sup>T</sup> respectively. Neighbour-joining and maximum-parsimony phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain SSW136<sup>T</sup> was affiliated to the family Rhodobacteraceae and formed a separate branch. The G+C content was 63.5 mol%. The major respiratory quinone was found to be Q-10. The polar lipids of strain SSW136<sup>T</sup> consisted of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified aminolipids and three unidentified phospholipids. The major fatty acids were C<sub>18:1</sub> Omega7c (46.5 %), Cyclo-CCyclo-C<sub>19:0</sub> Omega 8c (16.0 %) and C16:0 (12.8 %). On the basis of the morphological, genotypic, chemotaxonomic characteristics and low DNA–DNA relatedness, strain SSW136<sup>T</sup> is proposed to represent a novel genus and novel species, Nioella nitratireducens gen. nov., sp. nov., in the family Rhodobacteraceae. The type strain is SSW136<sup>T</sup> (=KCTC 32417<sup>T</sup> = NCIM 5499<sup>T</sup>) | |