Tranquillimonas alkanivorans gen. nov., sp nov., an alkane-degrading bacterium isolated from Semarang Port in Indonesia

Strain A34(T), an obligately halophilic, Gram-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, was isolated from seawater obtained from Semarang Port in Indonesia. It possesses a pink pigment and degrades short-chain alkanes. It is positive for catalase and oxidase and reduces nitrate to nitrite. Analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a clear affiliation of this strain with the family 'Rhodobacteraceae' in the class Alphaproteobacteria, with its closest relatives being Salipiger mucosus A3(T) (94.9% sequence similarity) and Palleronia marisminoris B33(T) (93.4%). The DNA G + C content was 69.1 mol%. The major cellular fatty acids of strain A34(T) were C(18:1)omega 7c (56.2%), C(19:0) cyclo omega 8c (26.0%) and C(16:0) (9.1 %), while the predominant respiratory lipoquinone was ubiquinone-10. Based on the physiological and phylogenetic data, it is proposed that strain A34(T) should be classified in a new genus and species, for which the name Tranquillimonas alkanivorans gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Tranquillimonas alkanivorans is strain A34(T) (JCM 14836(T) =DSM 19547(T)).