LAUSR

A novel Gram-stain-negative, thin-rod-shaped, aerobic, non-motile and yellow-pigmented marine bacterium (designated strain 2012CJ35-5T) was isolated from a marine sponge Callyspongia elongata sampled in Jeju-do, Republic of Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain 2012CJ35-5T belonged to the family Flavobacteriaceae, and was most closely related to Muricauda olearia KCCM 90075T (96.3 %), Muricauda alvinocaridis JCM 33425T (95.7 %), Muricauda flava KCTC 22665T (95.6 %), Muricauda koreensis KCTC 52351T (95.6 %) and Muricauda eckloniae KCTC 22266T (94.9 %). Average nucleotide identity, amino acid identities and digital DNA-DNA hybridization between strain 2012CJ35-5T and the closest related strain were 72.6, 73.6 and 17.3 % respectively, indicating that strain 2012CJ35-5T represents a novel species of the genus Muricauda. The genome size of strain 2012CJ35-5T is 3.8 Mbp and the G+C content is 43.9 mol%. Strain 2012CJ35-5T contained menaquinone 6 as the major respiratory quinone and phosphatidylethanolamine, four unidentified aminophospholipids and five unidentified lipids as major polar lipids. The fatty acids were mainly (>15 %) defined as C15 : 0 iso (31.7 %), C15 : 1 iso G (29.2 %) and C17 : 0 iso 3OH (18.0 %). Strain 2012CJ35-5T could be distinguished from the other members of the genus Muricauda by a number of chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics. Based on the results of polyphasic taxonomic analysis, strain 2012CJ35-5T (=KACC 22643T=LMG 32584T) represents a novel species within the genus Muricauda, for which the name Muricauda spongiicola sp. nov. is proposed.