Planococcus faecalis sp nov., a carotenoid-producing species isolated from stools of Antarctic penguins

Abstract

Taxonomic studies were performed on a novel carotenoid-producing strain, designated AJ003(T), isolated from faeces of Antarctic penguins. Cells of strain AJ003(T) were aerobic, Gram-stain-positive, cocci-shaped and orange. Strain AJ003(T) was capable of growing in a broad temperature range, including sub-zero growth (below -20 to 30 degrees C). 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain AJ003T was closely related to Planococcus halocryophilus Or1(T) (97.4 % similarity), Planococcus antarcticus DSM 14505(T) (97.3 %), Planococcus kocurii NCIMB 629(T) (97.3 %), and Planococcus donghaensis JH1(T) (97.1 %). The predominant cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C-15 : 0, and iso-C-16 : 0.MK-7 and MK-8 were the quinones identified, and the major pigment was glycosy1-4,4'-diaponeurosporen-4'-ol-4-oic acid. The major polar lipid was phosphatidylglycerol. DNA-DNA relatedness of strain AJ003T with respect to its closest phylogenetic neighbours was 38.2 +/- 0.5 % for Planococcus halocryophilus DSM 24743(T), 32.2 +/- 0.2 % for Planococcus antarcticus DSM 145051, 21.0 +/- 0.3 % for Planococcus kocurii DSM 20747(T) and 18.6 +/- 1.4 % for Planococcus donghaensis KCTC 13050(T). The DNA G + C content of strain AJ003(T) was 40.0 +/- 0.6 mol%. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, strain A1003(T) is concluded to represent a novel species of the genus Planococcus, for which the name Planococcus faecalis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is AJ003(T) (=KCTC 33580(T)=CECT 8759(T))