We have examined the ability of marine Proteobacteria from the Pseudoalteromonas genus and Alteromonas macleodii to produce low-molecular-weight, biologically active compounds with antimicrobial and surface-active properties. A new marine bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas issachenkonii, exhibited a high level of biological activity and produced antifungal and hemolytic compounds. A detailed spectroscopic investigation based on UV, IR, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and 2D 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that the former was indole-2,3-dione (isatin). The chemical structure of red-brown pigment (C9H7N3OS3) responsible for hemolytic activity remained unclear. Four of the 15 strains studied (P. luteoviolacea, P. rubra, P. undina, and P. issachenkonii) produced cell-bound, two (P. elaykovii and P. carrageenovora) produced extracellular, and one strain (P. citrea) produced cell-bound and extracellular fatty acids and phospholipids with surface activity. Neither peptides nor glycolipids with surface activity were detected.

A novel heterotrophic, yellow pigmented, aerobic, Gram-negative, nonmotile, oxidase- and catalase-positive bacterium KMM 3,938(T) was isolated from sea water collected in the Sea of Japan, Russia. The strain grew at mesophilic temperature range, and required the presence of NaCl for growth. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain KMM 3,938(T) is a member of the family Flavobacteriaceae. The predominant fatty acids were C13:0 iso, C14:0 iso, C15:0 iso, C15:0, C15:1Delta6, 3OH-C15:0:3 iso, and 3OH-C15:0. The G + C content of the DNA of KMM 3938(T) was 32.4 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, genotypic, and phylogenetic characteristics, the novel bacterium was assigned to the genus Polaribacter as Polaribacter butkevichii sp. nov. The type strain is KMM 3938(T )(= KCTC 12100(T) = CCUG 48005(T)).

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A whitish Gram-negative, motile, aerobic bacterium, designated strain H 14T, was isolated from seawater collected at St Kilda beach in Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne, Australia. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the organism belonged to the Roseobacter lineage of the class Alphaproteobacteria, forming a distinct evolutionary lineage at the genus level. Strain H 14T was distantly related to the genera Nautella, Ruegeria and Pseudoruegeria (family Rhodobacteraceae). Strain H 14T was unable to degrade gelatin, casein, chitin, agar and starch, did not produce any carotenoids, did not possess bacteriochlorophyll a and had a limited ability to utilize carbon sources. Strain H 14T grew with concentrations of 1–8 % (w/v) NaCl and over a temperature range of 5–35 °C. Phosphatidylglycerol was the major phospholipid (90 %); phosphatidylcholine (7.9 %) and phosphatidylethanolamine (2.0 %) were present in minor quantities. The predominant fatty acids were C18 : 1 ω7c (82.4 %), C18 : 1 ω9c (5.1 %) and C18 : 0 (3.8 %). The DNA G+C composition for strain H 14T was 59.1 mol%. Based on the results of physiological, biochemical, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic investigations, a new genus, Celeribacter gen. nov., with the type species Celeribacter neptunius sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is H 14T (=KMM 6012T=CIP 109922T).

A non-pigmented, motile, Gram-negative bacterium, strain Z 271 T , was isolated from the surface of leaves of the seagrass Zostera marina which was collected in Troitza Bay (Sea of Japan, Pacific Ocean). The new isolate grew between 5 6C and 28 6C and was slightly halophilic, tolerating environments containing up to 5 % (w/v) NaCl. Strain Z 271T was able to degrade Tweens 20, 40and 80 and partially degrade gelatin, but was unable to degrade casein. Phosphatidylethanolamine (36.9 %) and phosphatidylglycerol (63.1 %) were the predominant phospholipids. The genus Granulosicoccus, with the single species Granulosicoccus antarcticus, was described in 2007 as a member of the newly proposed family Granulosicoccaceae (Lee et al., 2007) of the order Chromatiales (Imhoff, 2005).In this study, we report the characterization of a novel bacterium of the genus Granulosicoccus, isolated in July 1998 from leaves of the seagrass Zostera marina. The seagrass was collected in Troitza Bay of the Gulf of Peter the Great (Kurilenko et al., 2007). A strain, Z 271 T , was isolated from an individual colony grown for 7 days at 28 u C on a medium (designated 'Medium A') containing: The following physiological and biochemical properties were determined by methods described by Smibert & Krieg (1994): oxidation/fermentation of glucose, denitrification (Azegami et al., 1987), oxidase and catalase activity, gelatin liquefaction, arginine dihydrolase, lysine decarboxylase, ornithine decarboxylase, sodium requirement [0, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 % (w/v) NaCl], indole and H 2 S production and the ability to hydrolyse starch, Tween 80 and casein. The growth of the novel strain at different temperatures was determined in MB and on plates of Medium A after 24-72 h at 2, 4, 6, 29, 30, 35 and 37 u C. Biolog GN test kits were also used to examine the primary oxidation of 95 carbon compounds as described elsewhere (Ivanova et al.,Abbreviation: FAMEs, fatty acid methyl esters.The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain Z 271 T is FJ535355.Transmission electron micrographs of cells of strain Z 271 T and an extended phylogenetic tree are available as supplementary figures with the online version of this paper. A supplementary table detailing the cellular fatty acid composition of the novel strain is also available.