Corynebacterium maris sp nov., a marine bacterium isolated from the mucus of the coral Fungia granulosa

A bacterial strain, designated Coryn-1(T), was isolated from mucus of the coral Fungia granulosa (northern Red Sea, Gulf of Eilat, Israel) by growth and enrichment of micro-organisms in agar spheres and subsequent plating. The bacterium was found to be a Gram-positive, non-motile, halotolerant, heterotrophic coccobacillus. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that strain Coryn-1T belonged to the genus Corynebacterium, exhibiting the highest levels of similarity (94 %) with the 16S rRNA gene sequence of Corynebacterium halotolerans YIM 70093(T). The novel strain grew well at 0.5-4.0% salinity, at pH 7.2-9.0 and at 30-37 degrees C. The major cellular fatty acids were oleic acid (C-18:1 omega 9c; 58 %), palmitic acid (C-16:0; 30 %) and tuberculostearic acid (10-methyl-C-18: 0; 12 %). The DNA G + C content was 66.6 mol%. On the basis of its phenotypic properties and phylogenetic distinctiveness, strain Coryn-1(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Corynebacterium maris sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Coryn-1(T) (=DSM 45190(T) =LMG 24561(T)).