A facultatively alkaliphilic, lactic-acid-producing and halophilic strain, designated SA9T , was isolated from a fermented Polygonum indigo (Polygonum tinctorium Lour.) liquor sample prepared in a laboratory. The 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogeny suggested that strain SA9 T was a member of the genus Oceanobacillus with the closest relative being Oceanobacillus profundus KCCM 42318 T (99.3 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). Cells of strain SA9 T stained Grampositive and were facultative anaerobic straight rods that were motile by peritrichous flagella. The strain grew between 5 and 48 6C (optimum, 35 6C) and at pH 7-12 (optimum, pH 9). The isoprenoid quinone detected was menaquinone-7 (MK-7) and the DNA G+C content was 40.6±0.9 mol%. The whole-cell fatty acid profile mainly consisted of iso-C 15 : 0 , anteiso-C 15 : 0 , C 16 : 0 and anteiso-C 17 : 0 . DNA-DNA hybridization with Oceanobacillus profundus DSM 18246 T revealed a DNA-DNA relatedness value of 23±2 %. On the basis of the differences in phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, and the results of phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and DNA-DNA relatedness data from recognized species of the genus Oceanobacillus, strain SA9 T merits classification as a representative of a novel species of the genus Oceanobacillus, for which the name Oceanobacillus polygoni sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SA9 T (5JCM 17252 T 5NCIMB 14684 T

A facultatively alkaliphilic, lactic-acid-producing and halophilic strain, designated SG103 T , was isolated from a fermented Polygonum indigo (Polygonum tinctorium Lour.) liquor sample for dyeing prepared in a laboratory. 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogeny suggested that SG103T is a member of the genus Gracilibacillus with the closest relatives being 'Gracilibacillus xinjiangensis' J2 (similarity: 97.06 %), Gracilibacillus thailandensis TP2-8 T (97.06 %) andGracilibacillus halotolerans NN T (96.87 %). Cells of the isolate stained Gram-positive and were facultatively anaerobic straight rods that were motile by peritrichous flagella. The strain grew at temperatures between 13 and 48 6C with the optimum at 39 6C. It grew in the range pH 7-10 with the optimum at pH 9. The isoprenoid quinone detected was menaquinone-7 (MK-7) and the DNA G+C content was 41.3 mol%. The whole-cell fatty acid profile mainly (.10 %) consisted of iso-C 15 : 0 , anteiso-C 15 : 0 and anteiso-C 17 : 0 . Unlike other reported species of the genus Gracilibacillus, the strain lacked diphosphatidylglycerol as a major polar lipid. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments with strains exhibiting greater than 96.87 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, 'G. xinjiangensis' J2, G. thailandensis TP2-8 T and G. halotolerans NN T , revealed 2±4 %, 4±9 % and 3±2 % relatedness, respectively. On the basis of the differences in phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, and the results of phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and DNA-DNA relatedness data from reported species of the genus Gracilibacillus, strain SG103 T merits classification as a members of a novel species, for which the name Gracilibacillus alcaliphilus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SG103 T (5JCM 17253 T 5NCIMB 14683 T ).During indigo fermentation, which proceeds under alkaline conditions (higher than pH 10), the pH gradually decreases owing to the action of micro-organisms (Aino et al., 2010). We have isolated indigo-reducing and lactic-acid-producing bacteria, namely Alkalibacterium psychrotolerans, Alkalibacterium iburiense and Alkalibacterium indicireducens, from indigo fermentation liquor obtained from Date City, Iburi, Hokkaido and Tokushima City, Shikoku in Japan (Nakajima et al., 2005;Yumoto et al., 2004Yumoto et al., , 2008. A lacticacid-producing bacterium, Oceanobacillus polygoni, has also been isolated from a fermented indigo liquor sample prepared in a laboratory (Hirota et al., 2013). In the present study, we further screened for new lactic-acid-producing micro-organisms from indigo fermentation liquor and found that one strain belonging to the genus Gracilibacillus produced lactic acid.The genus Gracilibacillus is one of the moderate halophilic genera belonging to the family Bacillaceae. Since the first description of the genus Gracilibacillus with Gracilibacillus halotolerans, which was isolated from surface mud of the Great Salt Lake in the USA (Wainø et al., 1999), and Bacillus dipsosauri (Lawson et al., 1996) from the salt Abbreviation: meso-DAP, mes...

A psychrotolerant and H2O2-resistant bacterium, Exiguobacterium oxidotolerans T-2-2T, exhibits extraordinary H2O2 resistance and produces catalase not only intracellularly but also extracellularly. The intracellular and extracellular catalases exhibited the same enzymatic characteristics, that is, they exhibited the temperature-dependent activity characteristic of a cold-adapted enzyme, their heat stabilities were similar to those of mesophilic enzymes and very high catalytic intensity. In addition, catalase gene analysis indicated that the bacterium possessed the sole clade 1 catalase gene corresponding to intracellular catalase. Hence, intracellular catalase is secreted into the extracellular space. In addition to intracellular and extracellular catalases, the inner circumference of the cells showed the localization of catalase in the mid-stationary growth phase, which was observed by immunoelectron microscopy using an antibody against the intracellular catalase of the strain. The cells demonstrated higher catalase activity in the mid-stationary growth phase than in the exponential growth phase. The catalase localized in the inner circumference can be dissociated by treatment with Tween 60. Thus, the localized catalase is not tightly bound to the inner circumference of the cells and may play a role in the oxidative defense of the cells under low metabolic state.